We Are Family
by Lori2279
Summary: A GA LV x over. Guess which broken hearted intern is Big Ed Deline's niece?
1. New Year's Eve in Vegas Baby

Title: We Are Family

Authors: Lori & Toni

Disclaimer: We don't own either show. Blah blah biddy biddy blah.

* * *

"The Montecito is having a New Year's Party," Meredith said as she down with Izzie and Cristina.

"And hello to you too," Cristina said sarcastically.

"Sorry, sorry," Meredith rolled her eyes.

"So the Montecito is having a party," Izzie said to get Meredith to continue.

"Yep and by some miracle I am not working so I am getting on a plane after my shift on the thirty-first and I will be home for my shift on the second."

"I hate you," Cristina sulked.

"You don't have to. Come with me," Meredith invited.

"I can't. I'm working and Burke wants to spend the night with me, so he's working."

"Sweet," Izzie smiled.

"Iz, what about you?"

"Working."

"Should I ask George?"

"He's afraid of Ed and he's working too," Cristina informed her.

"Am I the only one who got off?"

"Actually I seem to remember Alex gloating that's he's off," Cristina said.

Izzie rolled her eyes.

"Really? Think he'd want to go," Meredith questioned.

"Meredith!" Izzie sounded horrified.

"What? Look, you're all working I don't want to go alone."

"Can't you find someone other than the guy who cheated on me to ask?"

"Like who? Bailey?"

"Well," Izzie hedged.

"A, I am not George and B, I am not asking my pregnant boss to go to Vegas with me."

"Isn't there-"

"Izzie. Stop. It's a trip to Vegas, not a walk on the moon. Knowing Alex he'll hook up with some showgirl the minute we get to the casino and I won't see him until we get back on the plane to come home.

Izzie frowned. Even though she had helped Alex study to retake his boards she still didn't forgive him for cheating on her and she hated the thought of him going to Vegas with one of her closest friends.

"Iz, don't look so upset. Trust me, I'd much rather go with you, George, or Cristina but all things considered, Alex isn't a bad fourth choice."

Cristina snorted.

"What about him being dirty Uncle Sal?"

"Well, if tries to pull anything I have Big Bad Uncle Ed to kill him and trust me if that happens, no one will ever find the body."

"But he's-"

"You know what? He's probably already got plans for the night so he'll most likely say no and then I'll have run out of people to ask and I'll end up going alone anyway."

Izzie sighed. "Okay. Maybe you're right."

"I'm gonna go find him. See you guys later," Meredith got up headed in search of Alex.

"Cheer up Iz. The worst he can do is say yes," Cristina said sardonically.

"You're a great help, thanks," Izzie said sarcastically.

* * *

"Alex, just the man I wanted to see," Meredith said cheerfully.

"Should I be afraid?"

"Not really. I hear you have off on New Year's Eve."

"Yeah. Why, you need a date?"

"Sort of," Meredith hedged.

"What?"

"Okay, here it is. How would you like a free trip to Vegas?"

"Vegas?"

"Yes."

"What happened? You win a radio contest or something?"

"No."

"Then what's the catch?"

"No catch."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"Izzie know you're asking me?"

"Yes."

"So, let me guess, I'm the only other one who is not working besides you," Alex grinned at her when she started to squirm.

"Fine, okay, yes, you and I are the only ones who are not working on New Years and I don't want to go by myself. Look, there's going to be a huge party and it's Vegas, Alex. You can't go and not have a good time. Something for everyone."

"What about the free part? How'd you swing that?"

"My uncle is President of Operations at the Montecito Hotel and Casino so even if he didn't give me an apartment in their residential area as a graduation present we'd still have free room and board."

"What about getting there?"

"God, you ask a lot of questions. Ever consider police work?"

"All the time," Alex smiled.

"Okay. The owner of the hotel is sending a jet for me."

"Why?"

"He thinks very highly of Uncle Ed."

"Oh." Alex tilted his head a little and thought. "Okay, yeah."

"Seriously?"

"Yeah. New Years Eve in Vegas? I'm in."

"Yes. Oh, one more thing."

"What?"

"The party? It's a costume party. But don't worry 'cause I'm calling Delinda right now and she's going to set us up with amazing costumes, I promise."

"Who's Delinda?"

"My cousin. Bye Alex."

* * *

"Mystique."

"Is Delinda Deline there?"

"Can I say who's calling?"

"Meredith Grey."

"Just a second."

Meredith waited to the music of Frank Sinatra for a moment or two and then, "Meredith?"

"Hey Dee," Meredith smiled. "So, I am bringing a guest with me for the party."

"Oh yeah? Who?"

"You haven't met him yet."

"Him? Oh don't tell me McDreamy came crawling back."

"No. I'm bringing Alex Karev."

"The one who cheated on Izzie?"

"You have way too good a memory."

"It's the genius I.Q.," Delinda said nonchalantly.

"I'm sure it is," Meredith shook her head. "Anyway, is the party still a masquerade?"

"Yeah. Don't worry, I will take care of you and Alex."

"Okay, just nothing weird."

"Someone would think you don't trust me."

"I have known you too long to trust you Dee," Meredith smiled.

"Very funny," Delinda smirked. "So, how are you, really?"

"Really? I'm getting past it, I think. Sometimes it's just harder to breathe than others."

"Dad's offer still stands you know."

"Oh, I'm sure it does but I'm not interested in having anyone killed on my behalf." Meredith looked up and saw Miranda Bailey coming her way. "Uh, Dee? I gotta go. Talk to you later okay?"

"Alright Mer. Love you."

"Love you, too. See you soon."

"Bye."

* * *

"I've never been to Vegas," Alex told Meredith as they sat eating lunch in the hospital's courtyard.

"There's a first time for everything," Meredith replied. "The Montecito is so awesome! And you'll get to meet Delinda."

"That's your cousin, right?"

Meredith nodded.

"Is she hot?"

Meredith rolled her eyes. "Why is that the first question you ask?"

"Is she," Alex persisted.

"I don't know," Meredith exclaimed. "I don't look at her and think, 'Whoa, hot chick,' she's my cousin! But yes, she is very pretty."

Alex grinned, "Cool." He drank some of his coke. "So, the Montecito. I bet there are heaps of chicks there."

Meredith rolled her eyes, "I'm going to ignore you now."

"Alright, alright, I'm sorry," Alex laughed. "I can't wait – a few days without sick people and all the trouble that comes with working here."

Meredith sighed. "Yeah, it'll be a nice change."

Suddenly, both their pagers rang.

"The brain guy," Alex said, and they put their rubbish in the bin and walked off.

Derek Shepherd sat under a tree nearby having lunch with his wife.

"Derek, are you even listening to me," Addison asked.

"Of course," Derek smiled at her. But as he went back to his lunch he couldn't help but wish it was him going to Vegas with Meredith.

* * *

"Bright light city gonna set my soul, gonna set my soul on fire," Meredith sang to herself as she jotted down some notes on a chart for Dr. Burke.

"Someone's happy," Preston commented as he came up next to her.

Meredith smiled, "Yeah. I'm just excited I guess."

"Why's that?"

"Cristina didn't tell you?"

"About?"

"I'm going to Vegas," Meredith said happily.

"When?"

"Uh," Meredith checked her watch, "in about two hours. I'm going straight to the airport."

"By yourself?"

"No. I'm going with Alex."

"Alex?"

"Lack of options, right Mer," Alex said from the other side of the counter.

"Izzie was right. You do have an annoying way of sneaking up on people," Meredith teased.

"Gift. I'll meet you in the lobby at 5?"

"Sounds good," Meredith smiled.

Alex walked away and Preston gave Meredith a look.

"Don't look at me like that."

"I didn't say a word."

"But I know what you're thinking."

"Oh really?"

"Yes. You've got that same look Bailey had on her face when I told her that I was taking Alex with me. Then she said something about calling all the casinos and warning them that I was bringing a rabid dog into the city limits."

Preston had to laugh at that. "Dr. Bailey's got a way with words."

"Yeah well I am going to tell you what I told her. Alex is not going to cause any problems once I introduce him to Montecito's President of Operations."

"Really? You know the man personally?"

"Yeah." Meredith smiled, "He's my uncle. They call him Big Ed. George is terrified of him. I think it's because the first time they met, Ed pulled a gun on him. Bye Dr. Burke."

* * *

"You okay," Alex asked, looking over at a jittery Meredith, who was sitting beside him.

"Huh," she asked. "Oh. Yeah, I'm fine."

They were on the plane that was taking them to Vegas. From the way Meredith was acting, Alex had a sneaking suspicion that Meredith was a little scared of flying.

"So…." he said. "Tell me about your Vegas friends."

Meredith glanced at him, "Why?"

"I've gotta know about them sometime, don't I, "Alex asked. "I don't want to see someone and go, 'Hi…who are you?' Do I?"

"Good point. Well, firstly," Meredith began, "there's my uncle Ed. George is freaked out by him because he used to be in the-" Meredith quickly remembered that nobody was supposed to know about Ed being in the CIA so she said, "army. And he's tough and George…well, George isn't." She laughed.

"Right. So Ed is army dude."

"Army dude," Meredith rolled her eyes with a smile. "Nice. And yeah. Then, there's Auntie Jillian. She's great. Then there's their daughter, my cousin, Delinda. You know about her…."

"Yeah, she's the hot one," Alex grinned.

Meredith frowned. "Um, moving on. There's Danny McCoy, my uncle's right hand man, really. Head of security, used to be in the Marines. Served in Iraq for the second time not to long ago, actually. He's pretty funny, and good with the ladies, so you might have some competition," she smiled at Alex.

"Yeah right," Alex rolled his eyes. "Who else?"

"There's Mike Cannon, Danny's best male friend. He's got an engineering degree but he's claustrophobic so he was working as a valet but now he works in surveillance with Danny. Then, there's Sam Marquez. She's the best casino hostess in Vegas. She's tough and doesn't show people her weaknesses," Meredith explained. "Then, there's Mary Connell. She's in charge of entertainment and music acts. She's Danny's oldest and best friend. They were high school sweethearts and even got engaged after he came back from serving in Iraq the second time but it didn't work out."

"Too bad," Alex said, not sound that sad at all. "Next?"

"That's it," Meredith told him. "No, wait. There's Casey. He's the owner of the Montecito as well as this fine jet we're flying on. He's also Sam's ex-husband. Last I heard he had a crush on Mary. Oh, and well she's not in Vegas anymore but, Nessa Holt. Uncle Ed and Auntie Jill took her in when she was small and she and Dee grew up like sisters. The three of us were pretty close," Meredith said sadly. "But she left a while ago."

Alex nodded, "So that's it?"

"Yeah."

"So there's army dude, aunt woman, cousin girl, Marine dude, dude who doesn't know which job he wants, music girl, tough chick, and girl who ran away," Alex said summing it all up.

Meredith smiled at each one and nodded, "Yep. That's it"

"Sounds fun."

"It's Vegas. It's always fun."

"Anything else I should know?"

"One thing. If the name Monica Mancuso comes up, just smile, nod, and change the subject."

"Got it," Alex nodded. Then he frowned. "Wait a sec. Isn't she the one I heard you telling Yang about? The old owner of the Montecito?"

"Yeah, that's her."

"Didn't she…"

"Literally get blown away? Yeah. Big gust of wind just swept her right off the top of the Montecito. She went through the window of a shoe store."

"That's weird."

"That's Vegas."

* * *

"Gotta say I wasn't expecting a limo," Alex said as he and Meredith walked into the Montecito.

"I told you we'd be well taken care of."

"Yeah. See, I'm thinking your uncle was like Michael Corleone. You know, he did the army thing but he also was in the 'family' business. You sure you're telling me everything Mer?"

"He's more like Sonny. But no, my uncle was not in the mob, Alex," Meredith rolled her eyes.

"You sure 'bout that, Doll? Ed's got a lot of connections," a voice from behind them asked.

"Mike," Meredith turned around. "Hey," she gave him a hug. "God it's good to see you. I got all your postcards by the way. Sounds like you kinda did and kinda didn't have a very good time on the road."

"Right on both counts. You know," Mike took Meredith's hands in his and held them out to the side as he looked her over, "I think you get prettier every time I see you."

"Thanks Mikey." Meredith noticed Alex just standing next to them. "Oh God. Sorry Alex. Alex Karev this is Mike Cannon."

"Nice to meet you," Alex shook his hand.

"You too," Mike nodded. "So you wanna go up and lose your bags or go see Ed first?"

"Lose my bags and take a shower. Then I'll go see Ed. Alex?"

"I'll go upstairs too. I could use a shower."

"Okay," Meredith dug in her purse until she produced a key. "Mike, you wanna come along?"

"Nah. I got some things to check on before the big party. See you two later."

"Okay, if you see Delinda, let her know I'm here, okay?"

"Will do."

"Bye."

"Nice guy," Alex commented on the way to the elevators.

"Mike? He's great."

As they stepped onto the elevator Alex asked, "So, what do you have a permanently assigned room here?"

"No. See last summer they blew the Montecito up and when they rebuilt they included a couple of residential floors."

"So, there are people living in the hotel full time?"

"Well, some do. Most of the ones who keep apartments on those floors are ones who come to Vegas on a regular basis and don't want to pay for a room so they buy an apartment."

"And you have one of these apartments?"

"I do. Ed gave it to me as a belated graduation gift."

"Nice."

"I thought so."

* * *

"Uncle Ed!" Meredith ran into the huge office and hugged the man behind the large wooden desk.

Ed Deline smiled and replied affectionately, "Hey, kid." He looked past his niece and saw a man standing at the door. "Who's that," he asked Meredith.

She turned around and smiled. "That's my…" she paused, "friend, Alex Karev. He's an intern at Seattle Grace with me."

"Oh," Ed nodded, and then gestured for Alex to walk in. Alex did so, and walked up to Ed's desk.

"I'm Alex Karev," he said, holding out his hand.

Ed looked at it then extended his own and they shook while Meredith tried to not to burst out laughing. Her uncle was way over protective. "Sit down," he said to them, and they did. "So," Ed began, leaning back in his chair and looking at Alex. "How long have you known Meredith?"

Alex glanced sideways at the other doctor. "Uh, about a year, I guess."

Ed nodded, "Right."

Meredith felt a bit sorry for Alex - she knew he was going to get a pretty intense grilling session from her former CIA uncle. But then again, it would be kind of fun watching him squirm uncomfortably under Ed's gaze.

"So, Alex, where are are you from?"

"Iowa," Alex answered.

"Nice place."

"Yes, it is," Alex nodded.

"Parents still there?"

"Yes."

"Hmm," Ed focused his gaze on Alex and the younger man swallowed hard. "Married?"

"Uncle Ed!"

"What? Just checking."

"We're not that kind of friends," Meredith clarified. "Besides he's into someone else."

"Is he?"

"Yes," Alex spoke up. "I am. Your niece is just a friend. A good friend who asked me to come to Vegas because we were both off duty for the holiday. That's all."

"Good," Ed nodded. "Let's go have lunch. Delinda and Danny want to see you."

"Good idea."

* * *

"So, what'd you think of everyone? And I don't just mean the girls," Meredith asked as she and Alex entered Meredith's apartment.

"Not bad," Alex smiled. "Danny's a nice guy. Why do you call him Vegas?"

"'Cause he is from Vegas. Born and raised. Him and Mary," Meredith flopped onto the couch. "God this is comfy."

"It's ugly though. Why does everything in this apartment look like something out of an old lady's house," Alex sat down next to her.

"Because that's the way it was supposed to look for the old lady whose house the Montecito wanted to buy."

"What?"

"Well, there was this little old lady who owned a house smack in the middle of the Montecito golf course. She'd lived there since the forties or something. Anyway this was the latest in a long line of ideas."

"And it didn't work?"

"Oh no, it worked. But see after they tore her house down and started their construction they found something that wasn't supposed to be there."

"And that was?"

"The body of her husband."

"Self-defense?"

"Not according to Mary. Anyway since there's no statute of limitations on murder and it doesn't matter how old you are to the law she was arrested and taken off to jail. So then Ed bought her apartment and gave it to me." Meredith frowned as she looked around. "I haven't done much with it. I haven't had the time. If I let her, Delinda would decorate it for me but I want this place to reflect me. My mom's house still feels like it's waiting for her to- I'm sorry."

"What?"

"You can't possibly be interested in this."

"I don't mind. I'm here. I'm awake. I can hear. Use me."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously. So your mom's house?"

"It still feels like it's waiting for her to walk back into it. Even with Izzie and George there it doesn't feel like my space."

"So change that."

"I don't think I can," Meredith looked at the ceiling.

"Why not?"

"Truth?"

"Yeah."

"Because even though I know in my head that she's not going to get better and come home and be the her that lived in that house I can't bring myself to do something that means I know it in my heart." Meredith sighed.

"You ever talk to Ed about it?"

"My grandpa had Alzheimer's. He and Uncle Ed were really close and it tore him up inside watching him go through that. I don't want to bring those memories back anymore than I did the day I told him about Mom."

Alex couldn't really think of a response and luckily he didn't have to because there was a knock at the door. He looked at Meredith, "You wanna get it or should I?"

"I'll get it. It's probably our costumes for tonight," Meredith got up.

"Oh goody."

Meredith giggled as she opened the door and thanked the woman who handed her the bags. Then she closed the door and came back in. "Okay. This is marked Alex K. so it's yours," she handed it to him. "I wonder what they are."

"You don't know?"

"No. I made Dee promise nothing to weird though."

"Why doesn't that make me feel better?"

"'Cause you met her?" Meredith smiled and opened her bag. "Oh dear God."

"What?"

"I'm the Angel of Death."

"What?"

"I must have told Dee that when we're off, Iz, Cristina, and I watch _One Tree Hill_ and that after careful consideration we decided that Izzie is Brooke, the fashionable one who is surprisingly sensitive and very intelligent, Cristina is Haley, the smart one who got really lucky in her first serious relationship, and I am Peyton, the one with monumental parental issues, who is unlucky when it comes to guys and who on Halloween dressed up like the Angel of Death. I am going to cut out my tongue and then kill Delinda."

Alex snorted and then opened his bag, "Well, I think I may help you on both counts."

"Why?"

"I'm Satan."

Meredith giggled. "Oh this is too funny. Two doctors going to a party dressed as Satan and the Angel of Death."

"Let the good times roll."

* * *

"I feel weird in this," Alex muttered as he and Meredith walked into Mystique, tugging at his costume.

Meredith rolled her eyes. "Stop doing that, you'll wreck it," she told him. "And you'll be fine. Stop grumbling."

They saw the gang at the bar, all dressed in various costumes and talking.

Delinda, looking fabulous as a flapper, turned around and spotted the two doctors. "Hey!" she exclaimed. "You two look great!"

Meredith laughed and kissed her cousin on the cheek. "Sure. You look awesome, Dee."

"Aw, thanks," she grinned. "Now come on! Drinks are being served!" Delinda practically pulled the two to the bar. Everyone said hello and took a drink.

"Hey!" Delinda frowned, looking at Sam. "Put that phone down!"

Sam, dressed as a Playboy bunny, gave her a look. "Who are you? My mother?" she snapped, and paused. "No, not you…" she muttered into her mobile.

Meredith grinned, and then noticed Alex sitting silently beside her. "What's up?" she asked quietly.

Alex didn't seem to hear her, so Meredith poked him. "Huh?" he asked.

"Are you okay?"

"Why wouldn't I be?" Alex replied, a little defensively. "Yeah, I'm fine."

Meredith nodded, not quite believing him. "Alright, well you should go hang out with Danny and Mike. You know, talk…" she frowned. "Guy stuff."

Alex managed a smile, then drank the last of his drink, and walked over to the two surveillance men. Meredith watched him go, and then turned back to the girls.

"Sam, I swear!" Delinda was saying. "Give me the phone!"

Sam was shooting daggers at the blonde woman. "Yeah, I can have that for you by tomorrow…"

Mary, dressed as a fifties girl with a poodle skirt and sweater set, was looking from one to the other and laughing. "Mere, you're so lucky you're not in Vegas all the time."

Meredith took a sip of her drink. "I bet," she grinned.

* * *

"Check her out," Mike said, looking over at a tall blonde who was across the other side of Mystique. He turned to Alex. "She seems like your type."

Alex laughed lightly. "You don't know my type."

Danny shrugged. "No, I agree with Mike. She seems cool. Why don't you go talk to her?"

"Uh…" Alex set his glass of beer down. "I've kind of got someone back home."

Danny and Mike exchanged a look.

"Explain kind of," Mike said.

Alex sighed. "It's a long story."

"Hey man, we have time," Danny reassured him. "Besides, it can't be any more screwed up than me and Delinda or Sam and Casey or something."

Alex shook his head. "You'd be surprised. Days on end in a hospital without rest can make people do weird things, and I've done some pretty crazy stuff."

Mike and Danny both laughed.

"This is Vegas, man," Mike grinned. "We've seen weirder."

Alex took another swig of his drink and looked at Meredith, who was talking animatedly with Delinda and the others. "Well," he began. "Her name is Izzie."

* * *

Meanwhile the girls were eyeing the boys.

"So, that's Alex, huh," Delinda looked him over. "He doesn't look the type to go for slutty syph nurses."

"He does look like the type of guy who would cheat though," Sam offered her opinion. "I wonder if he's good in bed."

"Well, I think if Olivia was willing to do it with him again after the whole syphilis thing he must be mind blowingly good in bed," Meredith said. "And he I know he goes for redheads and blondes, so Mare, Dee, have at him."

"You don't think he'd go for the hottest casino host in Vegas," Sam adjusted her ears with a smile.

"I don't know if he likes brunettes. Cristina sorta scares him."

"Cristina scares everyone," Delinda pointed out. "She'd scare the Pope, Mer."

Meredith giggled. "Good point. Sam you're welcome to try."

"I'm still having trouble believing he cheated on your friend Izzie," Mary spoke up. "Delinda showed me that ad campaign she did. That girl is hot."

"Wait, you showed me that one," Sam said suddenly. "He cheated on the girl in the Bethany Whisper ad? She gave him the time of day and he cheated on her?"

"Yep."

"Idiot."

* * *

"Yeah, I probably am," Alex agreed with Danny.

"No probably about it," Danny said. "I've seen pictures of her laying around Mer's house in her PJ's with no make-up and her hair pulled back into a ponytail. She's still gorgeous. You blew it buddy."

"Yeah. Now I just have to figure out how to unblow it."

"Well," Mike checked his watch, "it's almost a new year so take heart. Maybe things'll be different."

"Yeah, maybe."

"Hey guys," Meredith smiled as she, Delinda, Mary, and Sam walked up. "So only half hour left 'til 2006 starts. Anyone have any resolutions?"

"None, that I want to share," Danny said with a grin.

"Me either," Alex said.

"Anyone wanna dance," Mike asked

"Yeah," Mary said. "C'mon."

"What do you say Dee," Danny asked.

"Sounds fun."

Sam's phone rang and she wandered away to take the call.

"So this is a pretty amazing party. I can see why you like Vegas so much."

"This isn't the Vegas I love."

"No?"

"No. The Vegas I love has to be seen from a great height like the top of the hotel."

"What?"

"C'mon, I'll show you."

Meredith led Alex out of Mystique and they made their way through the casino and over to the service elevators. Meredith pressed the the up button and they got on the next elevator. They rode to the top floor and then went up a flight of stairs. Meredith opened the door and they walked out onto the roof of the Montecito. She went over to the edge and swept her hand over the view, "This is the Vegas I love. It's amazing right now but it's even more amazing when the sun's going down and everything just starts to light up. It's like watching someone wake up."

"It is amazing. It's like..."

"The world is at your feet. I know. See over there? That pink building?"

"Yeah."

"That's the Pink Flamingo. That's the one Bugsy Siegel built. They say it's haunted."

"Cool."

"Yeah. Pretty much every building in Vegas has some kind of story attached to it."

"So is that why you come up here? For the history reminder?"

"No. Not always," Meredith looked down at the city.

"Meredith?"

"Once. It was right after my mom told me she was sick."

"What happened?"

"Delinda and Nessa called me. Reminded me that I may be an only child but I had two sisters who loved me and would be there when I needed them."

Alex nodded. "But you still come up here?"

"Just to think. It's a good place to be alone and gather your thoughts."

"Yeah."

"And it's a great place to watch a city-wide party. Look at everyone down there. You'd think this was the last night on earth for everyone."

"It is pretty cool," Alex agreed. "Hey, listen."

"5, 4, 3, 2, 1! Happy New Year," could be hear from a floor below them. Auld Lang Syne started to play.

"Happy New Year Alex."

"Happy New Year Mer."

"No tongue."

"You got it."

One kiss and a hug later and Meredith and Alex were headed back to the party.

* * *

"I'm going to miss you!"

Meredith hugged Delinda tightly. "Aw, Dee, I'm going to miss you, too. Make sure you come visit soon, yeah?"

Delinda grinned, "As if you could keep me away."

Meredith turned to the rest of the Vegas gang. "And that goes for you guys as well."

"We'll come soon," Danny promised, and hugged Meredith. Mike gave her a kiss on the cheek and then looked at Alex, who was standing nearby. "You take care of her, man," he said.

Alex nodded. "I will."

"And, hey, good luck with getting Izzie back," Danny said.

"Thanks," Alex replied.

Sam looked at Alex. "And if she does take you back, don't blow it."

Mary laughed. "I hope it goes well, Alex."

"Meredith!"

She turned around. "Hey, Uncle Ed."

"Can't you stay for a few more days?" Ed asked as he hugged his niece.

Meredith sighed. "I really wish I could, but Alex and I have to start our new shifts tomorrow, and this time of year's usually really busy, and with Bailey about to have her kid at any moment…"

Ed smiled. "Oh well. You'd better be back here soon, kid."

His niece grinned. "I will."

Everyone was silent for a while, before Alex said, "Well, it's been great but we'd better get going."

"Right…"

"Yeah…"

The guys started to pick up the bags that Alex and Meredith had brought, while Delinda, Mary and Sam talked to Meredith.

Finally, Alex and Meredith were about to get into a taxi that would take them to the airport.

"It's been great guys," Alex said, shaking hands with Danny and Mike. "See you soon, right?"

The two surveillance men nodded. "Yeah."

Meredith hugged her friends one last time, and then she and Alex got into the taxi.

"Airport, please," Alex told the driver, and with one last wave out the window, they drove off.

"So, did you enjoy Vegas?" Meredith asked.

Alex grinned. "Yeah, it's great." He paused. "Thanks for taking me along, Mere."

Meredith smiled. "I'm glad I did, actually. I really hope that you and Iz make up."

"Yeah me too."

They were silent for a moment.

"I bet I can spot more landmarks than you on the way to the airport…"

"Yeah, right! You're on…"

* * *

"Hey," Meredith tossed an envelope onto the table Alex was sitting at and then put a box down next to it. "Presents from Vegas," she sat down

"Oh yeah," Alex opened up the box and smiled. "I like this."

"Read the bottom."

"Satan and His Angel," Alex grinned. "Dee's idea?"

"Mary's actually. I got one too."

"She put it on the mantel," George said as he sat down. "I gotta say, you look good with black and white hair, Meredith."

"Thank you, George," Meredith rolled her eyes.

"I think the wings are a nice addition. You should think about making them a permanent part of your wardrobe," Alex said.

"You two are hilarious," Meredith told them dryly.

"Burke's being a guy," Cristina announced sitting down.

"Again?"

"I don't wanna talk about it."

"Good. Here," Alex handed her some pictures. "This is what we did on New Year's."

"Oh yeah, I heard you got pictures from Dee. Izzie was going on about some picture you stuck up on the mantel. Oooh, who's he?"

Alex leaned over and answered, "Mike. Former valet, now in security. Has an engineering license and is claustrophobic."

"So you _were_ paying attention."

"Nothing much else to do on the plane ride except watch you fidget. You know I think you're scared of flying."

"Am not."

"Are so."

"Who's the bunny?"

"Sam," Meredith and Alex answered George at the same time.

"That's just creepy," Cristina traded stacks with George. She flips a picture over to show Meredith, "Is this Danny?"

"Yeah," Meredith says looking. "Not bad huh?"

"Damn Delinda's lucky she got there first."

"Story of my life."

"What are you guys talking about?"

"The rule," Meredith said. "Dee, Ness, and I made a rule when we were teenagers and we've stuck to it. If any of us goes out with a guy, be it one date or a serious thing or even just a one night stand, the other two can never go anywhere near that guy."

"I think it's crazy," Cristina said.

"That's your right but it's kept me, Dee, and Ness together because no matter what our hormones may want, the rest of our body wants to keep our sisters more." Meredith and Alex's pagers went off. "Bailey."

"Me too," Alex collected his pictures. "Hey, George you going by the locker room?"

"Yeah, I'll take them down and put them in my locker 'til later."

"Thanks."

Alex and Meredith left the cafeteria and got in an elevator. Just as the doors closed Alex noticed Derek Shepherd running down the hall and something occurred to him.

"Mer?"

"Hmm?"

"Ed's overprotective right?"

"To the extreme."

"So, when the whole thing with Shepherd went down he…"

"Offered to make sure no one found the body," Meredith finished the thought.

"See, that's sweet."

"I thought so."


	2. Visitor

"Look, I am not here for an appointment. It's a visit. It's supposed to be a surprise," Delinda Deline was getting a little frustrated with the clerk.

"Delinda?"

Delinda looked up and smiled. "George. Thank God. I'm trying to find Meredith and I am not getting any help," she shot a look at the clerk.

"Meet me over by the elevator," he pointed.

Delinda met her cousin's roommate over by the elevator and hugged him tightly. "Good to see you, George."

"You too," George smiled at the blonde. "You've got great timing by the way. Mer's off the next few days."

"I know. I called-"

"You're here," Izzie's shriek could be heard from down the hall as she raced towards George and Delinda. She hugged the other blonde and then pulled away. "I thought you weren't coming in until later."

"Managed to snag an earlier flight."

"How?"

"Got Casey to lend me the Montecito jet. Pretty easy considering how well all the clubs and restaurants are doing."

"Meredith is going to go crazy when she sees you. She's been whining about wanting to visit you guys and not having the time between the hospital and her mom."

"Yeah, I know. That's why I came to see her. That and if I didn't Dad was going to hop on a plane and come see her and if that happened I think Seattle Grace would be missing one neurosurgeon."

Izzie giggled and George grinned at Delinda's reference to Ed Deline's over protective nature when it came to the women in his life.

* * *

"Okay, here are the post-op notes, Dr. Burke," Meredith said as she handed over a chart to her resident.

"Thanks Grey. How're doing?"

"I'm sleeping better."

"Good," Preston wouldn't admit it but he was fonder of Cristina's friends than they knew. "We're all glad you're okay."

"Me too," Meredith smiled and then she glanced over Dr. Burke's shoulder and her mouth dropped open. "Will you excuse me, Dr. Burke?

"Sure."

Meredith walked around Preston and headed down the hall. "Delinda," she called as she got closer to the desk where her friends were standing with her cousin.

Delinda turned and smiled, "Meredith!"

"What are you doing here," she said as they hugged.

"I felt like seeing my beautiful, intelligent cousin."

"So, that's what it takes," Meredith nodded.

"What?"

"I have to nearly get blown to kingdom come for you to get your ass on a plane. Good to know."

"That is not funny."

"It's a little funny," Meredith corrected.

"No and Dad would not find it funny either," Delinda linked arms with Meredith as they walked down the hall. Meredith waved to her roommates over her shoulder. "Do you know how many times he wanted to jump on a plane and come see you these past few weeks?"

"I wish he had. I would've liked to see him."

"Oh, so that must have been my other cousin who begged me to keep Dad in Vegas and to use brute force if necessary a few months ago."

"That's different. Ed was coming here with the sole intention of killing Derek."

"Any reason he shouldn't have wanted to kill him?"

"No, but he's not in the you-know-what anymore and therefore can't kill at random."

"He still could've made sure that no one found the body," Delinda reminded her as Meredith pressed the elevator button. "Where are we going?"

"Changing room. I'm off so we're getting outta here. What do you wanna do tonight?"

"What else? Go to a bar, pick out some guys, hustle them at pool, and then spend the money on a strip club," Delinda grinned.

"So pizza, a movie, and stay up talking until dawn?"

"As always."

"We're too predictable."

"It's kinda nice," Delinda smiled as the doors opened and some people walked out. The two women got on, Meredith failing to notice the presence of Addison until the older woman spoke.

"Dr. Grey, how are you?"

Meredith looked over her shoulder and smiled, "Fine, Dr. Shepherd. How are you?"

"Good."

Meredith nodded and then faced forward again, avoiding Delinda's eyes until they got off the elevator.

Once the cousins were in the confines of the locker room, Delinda started talking as Meredith changed into her street clothes.

"I knew she'd be a red head. You can't be that evil and not have red hair. I swear if it weren't for Mary, I'd think every woman who had red hair was one of Lucifer's angels. Did you know they used to drown red headed babies at birth 'cause they thought they were evil?"

"Addison is not evil. Fine, Derek used to call her Satan but that was a while ago. She's actually pretty nice."

"Hello? The woman cheated on her husband with his best friend. She ruined two relationships in the process and then she came out here and ruined yours. That is the essence of evil."

Meredith rolled her eyes, "Okay Dee. Let's just get outta here before you make me introduce you to Addison's husband."

"I don't get to meet McDreamy? What the hell?"

"No. C'mon," Meredith tugged her cousin out of the locker room and down the hall.

"Please Mer? I'll be good and I won't threaten his life."

"No. I know you Dee. The minute you know who he is he's going to get a knee in the groin."

"Hadn't thought about that. I was just going to punch him in the stomach."

"Yeah, see? We're outta here."

"Not fair," Delinda pouted as the two walked down the stairs and waited for the elevator. As they waited Alex spotted them and came over.

"So, I guess I'm being stood up," he joked to Meredith.

"Oh, God. I forgot. I'm sorry Alex."

"No problem. We'll do it another night. Nice to see you Delinda," Alex smiled at the other woman.

"You too."

"Bye."

* * *

"So that's Burke," Delinda asked pointing to a picture from Thanksgiving.

"Uh-huh."

"Cristina's got good taste."

"I like to think Burke's the one with the good taste."

"And he's a heart surgeon?"

"Right."

Delinda flipped through a few more and stopped, "Not bad."

"Who," Meredith sat up.

"Him."

"Oh my God. Who took that picture? Izzie," Meredith called.

Izzie appeared in Meredith's doorway a few moments later, "Hey. What's up?"

"Did you take this picture," Meredith handed it over.

"Oh. Yeah. Sorry 'bout that. I just thought he was a cutie and deserved to be recorded for posterity's sake so I got a quick shot with my phone."

"Who is he?"

"McSteamy."

"Excuse me?"

"That's the guy Addison had the affair with," Meredith explained. "Dr. Mark Sloan."

"Wow," Delinda breathed as Izzie came in and sat down at the foot of the bed. "You know he kinda looks like this guy who worked at the casino for a little while last year."

"The one who took over for Danny when he got recalled," Meredith asked as she lay back down.

"Yeah. Damn, what was his name? Leo something," Delinda frowned. "Broder. That was it. Leo Broder. And man was he cute. Much like McSteamy here."

"Well they say everyone has a twin somewhere."

"True," Izzie nodded. "Well, I'm gonna go to bed. Night guys."

"Night."

Izzie left, shutting the door behind her and Delinda put the pictures on Meredith's nightstand and lay down next to her cousin.

"The bed feels too big," Meredith said after a minute or two.

"I was just thinking the same thing. It's weird not to have Nessa here with us."

"There's no chance she'll ever be able to come back?"

"No. If there was I think Daddy would've said something if only to make me talk to him sooner."

"I'm glad you guys made up."

"Me too," Delinda smiled. "So, is it me or did Alex get cuter?"

"Delinda," Meredith groaned. "We are so not going there."

"What? He's cute and you and he never did anything so I'm not breaking the rule. Now if I tried for McDreamy then I'd be breaking the rule."

"You cannot have Alex. There will be no having of Alex."

"Mer!"

"No. If things end badly then he and I can't be friends and I'll be forced to call on George for all my male perspectives. That will not work well."

"This is so unfair."

"I thought you said he wasn't your type anyway."

"I'm less picky these days. It's been a while."

"Aww, poor thing."

"Oh shut up. Girls who sleep with their bosses do not get to judge."

"Girls who sleep with their father's lackeys don't get to judge either."

"Danny was not- Okay yeah he was."

"I still can't believe that Ed didn't kill him when he found you two in bed together. And you! You just looked over your shoulder and said 'Hi Daddy' like it was nothing."

"What can I say? I do well under pressure."

"Yeah and it helps that you're a total Daddy's girl."

"I am not."

"Are so."

"Am not."

"Oh you are too and you know it," Meredith smiled. "But I'll stop."

"Thank you."

"Sure," Meredith smiled. "Daddy's girl."

"Orphan."

"Skank."

"Ho."

"Ditz."

"Nerd."

"Love you," Meredith smiled.

"Love you, too," Delinda said as she turned off the light. "Night, Mer."

"Night Dee."

* * *

"I hate saying good-bye," Meredith pouted a few days later.

"I know. But look at it this way, next time it's your turn to get your ass on a plane and come see us."

"Yeah, I will. I definitely will. I miss Vegas a lot more since New Year's."

"Next time, bring Izzie with you. She can help you redecorate the apartment."

"I will. Izzie would love to get her hands on the place. I showed her pictures from when Alex and I were there on New Year's and she has tons of ideas."

A horn honked outside.

"That's the car," Delinda said. She hugged Meredith, "Chin up, okay Mer? He's out there. I know he is."

"I hope so. Say hi to everyone for me," Meredith grinned.

"I will."

"And give my love to Uncle Ed and Aunt Jill."

"You don't even have to ask for that favor," Delinda said as she picked up her bag.

"Call me when you get home."

"I will. Bye."

"Bye Dee."


	3. Borrowed Angels

Meredith lay down on her bed. She'd gotten home a little while ago from the disaster known as 'prom' and after she'd made sure Alex had a blanket and pillow for the night she'd changed out of her dress and turned off the ringer on the house line and then turned off her cell phone. She didn't want any interruptions to what her head was telling her.

_You idiot! You have, or rather could have had, a great guy and you screw it up by sleeping with your ex in an exam room. What in God's name is wrong with you? He chose Addison, a woman who slept with his best friend over you and you still can't tell him to drop dead? I think you might need psychiatric help._

_Or maybe you should finally give in and do what Ed's been asking you to do since you nearly died. Move home. You have the apartment, you'd have family, and you'd also be a thousand miles away from Seattle, Derek, Addison, and Finn. It really makes a lot of sense when you think about it._

Part of Meredith's heart, the part that refused to go unheard made its case. _But if I go now isn't it just running away from everything, including what happened tonight? And what about what happened tonight? Does it mean anything? Does it mean that Derek will want to come back and try again? Do I even want him to come back? After everything do I really want him back in my life like that again?_

Meredith rubbed her forehead and sighed. Her head and her heart were giving her a migraine and considering that she had to be back at work in a few hours this was not a good time for a sleepless night.

She rolled onto her side and shut her eyes, trying to will herself to sleep.

GAGAGAGAGA

"You look like hell," Alex said to his friend while she changed into scrubs.

"And good morning to you too Alex. I hope you enjoy sleeping on my porch tonight 'cause I think I'm going to be getting a new couch."

"Sorry. You just don't look like you slept at all last night."

"I slept a little," Meredith defended herself.

"Mer."

"Alex," she mocked his tone.

"What's wrong?"

Meredith sighed and looked around the locker room. Once she was sure they were alone she leaned in close to Alex and whispered, "I did it with McDreamy last night."

"You what?"

"Shh!"

"I'm sorry. When you say you did it, do you mean sex?"

"Yes."

"Jeez Mer," Alex groaned. "He's married."

"I'm well aware of that."

"So, what now?"

"I don't know."

Alex didn't have a chance to respond because the door opened and Bailey walked in.

"Dr. Grey, you're up in Neuro with Shepherd. Dr. Karev, by popular request you're with Montgomery Shepherd."

"Dr. Bailey," Meredith said before the older woman could make an exit. "I have an excruciating migraine right now and I think the best place for me would be doing sutures down in the pit."

Miranda Bailey was a lot of things but stupid wasn't one of them. She knew something was up. However since she was of the opinion that Shepherd had been a little bossy in his request of having Meredith working with him today she'd let it slide.

"Okay. I'll be sure to tell Shepherd. Karev, as for you, I don't care if your appendix is about to rupture, get moving. She-Shepherd is waiting for you."

"Yes ma'am," Alex said. "See you at lunch, Mer."

"Bye."

GAGAGAGAGAGA

"Dr. Shepherd."

"Dr. Bailey. Where's Dr. Grey? We have a patient to go over before we talk to the family."

"Dr. Grey sends her apologies. Due to a migraine, I assigned her to the pit."

"Whose migraine?"

"Hers."

Derek shut the file he had open, "I asked you to assign Dr. Grey to my service. Now you may not like it, but I am your boss. That means when I ask for an intern, I expect to get one."

"Well, I can ask your wife if she'd like to give up Karev for the day. Other than that you're out of luck."

"Bailey," Derek started.

"And another thing, don't ever pull rank on me again. You may be my boss, but Meredith is my business and if I see fit to put her in the pit, I am going to do just that."

GAGAGAGAGAGA

Alex was writing some notes in a chart when he heard someone call his name. He looked up and smiled.

"Mike? Hey man," he put down the chart and shook his hand when they got closer together.

Mike Cannon smiled at other man as best he could. He only wished he were here for a better reason. "Hey. How's it going?"

"Good. You get tired of Vegas or something?"

"Not exactly. I'm looking for Meredith."

"In the pit. But," Alex checked his watch, "I'm meeting her for lunch in about ten minutes. You can come with me."

"Sounds good."

Alex nodded and handed a chart to the nurse at the desk. "Tell Dr. Shepherd if she needs me I'll be having lunch in the cafeteria."

"You got it Dr. Karev."

Alex turned back to Mike and caught him looking very depressed. Suddenly Alex had a very bad feeling about why Mike was in Seattle.

GAGAGAGAGAGAGA

Meredith entered the cafeteria and looked around. Her eyes widened when she spotted Alex sitting with Mike.

"Oh my God," she breathed and hurriedly walked over to them. "Hey Mike," she hugged him.

"Hey Kid," Mike smiled a little when she hugged him.

"Talk about the last person I thought I'd see today," Meredith smiled. She pushed him a little. "What are you doing here?"

"I need to tell you something."

"Dee didn't go through with it, right? I knew she was still hung up on Danny."

"No, she didn't but that's not why I'm here. Can we do this someplace else?"

"Mike?"

"You don't want to hear this in the middle of a crowded room," Mike advised gently.

"Okay," Meredith nodded and let Mike lead her out into the hall. They stopped a few feet away. "Okay. Tell me what's going on Mike."

"Last night, before the wedding was supposed to happen there was a shooting."

"What?"

"Mer, I'm so sorry. It was Ed."

"How bad? Is he breathing on his own? Where was he shot? Mike, answer me!"

"Mer, it was point blank in the chest at close range. He bled out before the paramedics got there," Mike said quietly.

Meredith's mouth dropped open and a strangled cry came out as she slumped into Mike.

"I got ya," Mike whispered as he kept Meredith upright until her could get her into a nearby wheelchair. She doubled over and Mike knelt down with one hand on the back of her head and the other on one of her calves.

"Meredith," Alex's voice came from the doorway of the cafeteria. He ran over and knelt down in front of her. "Mer? Hey, what is it?"

His only answer was Meredith's sobbing.

He looked at Mike, cool, calm, and collected Mike, who the girls of the Montecito called an enigma when it came to emotions and saw a tear roll down his face. Then he knew.

It was Ed.

GAGAGAGAGAGAGAGA

Derek Shepherd was not having a good day.

First his wife wanted to talk. Nothing good ever came after that phrase.

Then Meredith had successfully avoided being anywhere near him for the day and even his attempt at going to find her in the pit had proved useless because the minute he got off the elevator she'd gotten onto one and the doors had shut before he'd realized she was there.

With a sigh he went up to the surgical floor hoping to find Meredith.

GAGAGAGAGAGAGA

Alex stood in the office with the phone in his hand. He sighed as he dialed Meredith's home number. The phone rang three times before someone picked up.

"Hello?"

"George," Alex said.

"Hello? Yeah, Alex, is that you?" George asked. "What's up?'

Alex sighed as he began to tell George the news. "It's Ed. He was shot, and Mike came from Vegas to tell Mer…she's getting time off, George, to go be with Dee and her aunt."

"Oh my god," George exclaimed. "Ed? Big Ed? As in Mer's uncle? He…he can't be dead!"

Alex looked through the office blinds to where Cristina was trying to comfort an inconsolable Meredith. "Uh well actually George, he is. Look, I need you to pack some of Meredith's stuff – clothes and all that so she can go to Vegas as soon as possible."

"Uh, yeah, sure…" George said sadly.

"And make sure you pack some underwear, too," Alex reminded the other doctor. "But if you're not comfortable with you know…going through her underwear drawer, get your girlfriend to do it, alright?"

"Shut up," George muttered, but then said, "Yeah, okay. I'll see you soon."

Alex nodded and hung up. He turned around to find Derek looking at him.

"What," he asked tiredly.

"Why does Meredith need time off to go to Vegas," Derek asked.

Alex tried to walk past the attending, but Derek blocked his way. "I don't really think you need to know about Meredith and her family situation."

"Alex."

"No!" Alex exclaimed. "She was just starting to get better after what you did to her, and now this has made her even worse. If she wants to tell you then she can, but I'm not going to tell you because it doesn't have anything to do with you, because you don't care about her. If you did, then right now it'd be you packing her things and helping her and you wouldn't have a wife."

With that, Alex shoved past Derek, leaving the surgeon leaning against the doorway sadly.

GAGAGAGAGAGA

"Dr. Webber, Dr. Grey and Dr. Karev are here to see you," Patricia, his secretary, told him in a low voice.

"Can they come back? I'm a little busy right now," Richard barely glanced up.

"Uh, sir? You might want to see them now. Dr. Grey's very upset. I think the only reason she's standing upright is because Dr. Karev is holding onto her."

Richard's head shot up. "Show them in."

Patricia nodded and then brought the two doctors in. Alex carefully sat Meredith down in a chair and then quietly asked her, "Do you want me to stay?"

Meredith shook her head, "No. Thank you, though."

"I'll be outside." Alex kissed the top of her head and then exited.

Meredith took a deep breath and looked at Richard. "I need some time off," she said after a moment of silence.

"I see," Richard nodded. He'd known this day would come. He just hadn't expected it to be this soon.

"No you don't. It's not my mother," Meredith told him.

"What?"

"It's not my mother. She's still alive."

"Then what's wrong?"

"My uncle died."

"Ed?"

"You know who he is?"

"I met him once, a long time ago. I'm very sorry Meredith. He was a good man from all accounts."

"Yes, he was." Meredith sucked in some air. "So about that time off?"

"Two weeks enough time?"

"That's plenty, thank you."

"Did you tell Dr. Bailey?"

"Cristina told her for me."

"When would you leave?"

"George is packing my things up as we speak."

"Do you need Alex to take you home?"

"No. One of my friends from Vegas is waiting in the lobby to take me to my house and then the airport. I should be gone in a few hours."

"Your mother?"

"I don't know what to tell her or even if I should. I don't know how or if she'd react to this at all."

"If you'd like, I can tell her."

"You don't have to do that."

"I think I want to."

"Alright," Meredith whispered.

Richard nodded. "I am sorry Meredith."

"Yeah, me too," Meredith said quietly before standing up. "Dr. Webber, he doesn't know. It's none of his business."

"Understood."

"Thank you."

Meredith left the office and Richard looked out the window at the Seattle skyline. He'd only met the infamous Big Ed Deline once and the other man had left a lasting impression of being a person that was deeply committed to ensuring his family's wellbeing, thought very highly of marriage vows, and was not afraid to kick the ever living crap out of anyone who hurt someone he loved.

Richard furrowed a brow as he considered the last part. Thinking about everything that went down between Derek and Meredith he had to admit that he was a little surprised the neurosurgeon was still walking upright.

GAGAGAGAGA

Callie threw the last of Meredith's tank tops into the suitcase and zipped it up. Then she picked up the garment bag that was hanging on the door and went downstairs. George was sitting in the living room staring into space. Callie put the suitcase on the floor and slung the garment bag over the back of a chair and sat down next to him.

"Hey," she said quietly.

"Hey. Thanks for doing that," he nodded towards the bags.

"No problem." She looked at his expression, "You okay?"

"It just doesn't seem real."

"Did you know Ed?"

"Yeah. After the Code Black he came to see Mer at least once a month and if he didn't come he sent Delinda."

"The blonde in the photo with Meredith?"

"Right."

"What was he like?"

"He was an old-fashioned tough guy. He could kick a guy's ass and then turn around and buy a woman a drink. Scared the ever living hell out of me the first time we met."

"How?"

"Well it was right after Izzie and I first moved in with Meredith. Late one night I was home alone 'cause Iz and Mer were stuck at the hospital and I hear this noise right? I figure it's just the wind so I ignore it. Then I hear this thud like something falling over and then I hear glass breaking. So, I get up and I grab a bat from behind my door. I very carefully make my way downstairs and as I come into the living room I hear the cock of a gun behind me and a voice says, "Put down the bat punk'. So I do it and then I turn around very slowly to see Ed pointing a gun at my head."

"Oh boy."

"Then he asks me who I am and what I'm doing in this house. I tell him I live there and he lowers the gun a fraction and looks me over. Then he says, "You must be George. I'm Ed.' He puts the gun back in its holster and smiles."

"Sounds like an interesting guy."

"He was," George said quietly. "Always seemed larger than life. I guess that's why I didn't really believe Alex when he first told me."

"Tell me about it," Mike's voice said from the doorway. "I didn't really believe Danny when he told me either."

"Hey Mike," George got up. "Mike Cannon, this is Callie Torres. Mike works with- ah Mike's from Vegas."

"Nice to meet you," Callie smiled as she got up and shook Mike's hand.

"You too," Mike nodded.

"Where's Meredith?"

"She's waiting outside. She didn't want to come in because she knew she'd just end up in tears again and she said that Izzie didn't need to hear that right now."

"She tell you?"

"About Iz? Yeah. How is she?"

"She won't come out of her room."

"Sounds about right." Mike looked at his watch. "We better go."

George gave Mike Meredith's bags and shook the other man's hand. "Tell Mer to call if she needs anything."

"I will."

Mike left and George turned to Callie. He just hugged her wordlessly.

GAGAGAGAGAGAGA

"Dr Yang!"

Cristina turned around with a glare on her face. She knew that voice. It belonged to McDreamy, and, quite frankly, right now she wasn't in the mood. "What?" she snapped.

Dr Derek Shepherd frowned, a bit taken aback by her tone. "Do you know what happened to Meredith?"

"Yes," Cristina said, then turned around and started to walk away.

Derek followed her. "Well, aren't you going to tell me what happened?"

The intern nearly laughed. "Uh, no."

"Listen, Cristina," Derek said in a voice that one would use when explaining something to a little kid, "Just tell me what the hell is going on. Everyone seems to know except for me."

"Have you ever thought that maybe there's a reason for that?"

Derek looked at the young doctor, hurt. "Cristina…"

She whirled around. "No! You don't get to call me Cristina! It's Dr Yang. I am grateful for what you did for Burke but I despise you for what you continue to do to Meredith and I'm not going to talk about her with you because if she wants to tell you what's going on then it's up to her. And if she doesn't want to tell you…" Cristina looked at Derek. "…then I don't blame her."

With that, the intern stalked off, leaving a very confused and hurt attending standing in the hall.

GAGAGAGAGAGAGA

"Mike, you really don't have to come up with me," Meredith said as she and the man walked down the hall to her apartment. "I'm just gonna shower and change before I head to Auntie Jillian's."

"I promised Mrs. D and Delinda that I wouldn't let you out of my sight until I delivered you to the house. If I go back on that promise, I'll probably find myself on the business end of a baseball bat," Mike grinned.

Meredith smiled a little at his joke as she unlocked the door and entered her Vegas home. She stopped just inside the living room and looked around. It no longer looked like a little old lady's home. Now it looked like some place she'd live in. There were pictures of her and her family on book shelves next to books. The furniture looked comfy and she suddenly realized that she'd like nothing better than to sit down.

"Oh damn," Mike sighed. "I forgot."

It took Meredith a minute to realize Mike had spoken. "You forgot?"

"Ed and Delinda and your friend Izzie worked on this over the last few months. They wanted to surprise you."

"Mission accomplished," Meredith whispered. She smiled a little as she looked around. "I'm gonna go take that shower."

"Meredith-"

"Be right back," Meredith all but ran into the bedroom and shut the door behind her as she took her clothes off and walked to the bathroom. She turned on the water and got in not caring that the water was still freezing, glad for it actually. She to numb the overwhelming feeling of despair she had in her gut. She wanted to numb the feeling she got every time she realized that Ed wasn't coming back this time.

But most of all she wanted to numb herself to the fact that as much as she may have told her friends and Dr. Webber that it wasn't any of his business she still wanted Derek there to hold her when she cried.

&&&&&&&&

"She hates me."

"What?" Chief Webber looked up to see his top brain surgeon standing in front of his desk, looking very frustrated and annoyed.

"Meredith," Derek explained. "She hates me. She's not telling me what's wrong."

Webber took off his glasses and sighed. "What do you want?"

"I need you to tell me what's wrong with her!" Derek shouted.

Webber shook his head calmly. "Nothing's wrong with her, per se. Something happened within her family."

"Care to elaborate?'

"Not really." Webber put his glasses back on and got back to his paperwork.

"Don't do this, Richard," Derek half-begged.

"Do what?"

"I know you were me twenty years ago!" Derek shouted. "I know about you and Ellis Grey. I know she was your Meredith. I know how you stayed with your wife."

Webber stared at the surgeon with something that showed disbelief, shock and complete anger mixed into one expression. "How dare—"

Derek held up his hand and interrupted. "I know that you'd do anything to help Ellis, I know you do. You go visit her. This is my way, so god dammit Richard, tell me what's wrong!"

Webber sighed, and put his glasses back on. "Sit down, Derek."

&&&&&&&&

"So, you mad at me?"

Meredith looked up from the pool her legs were in to see Danny and frowned, "Why on earth would I be mad at you?"

Danny sat down next to her, his legs folded in front of him so they wouldn't get wet. "I didn't come to get you. I couldn't come to get you."

"Danny, don't take this the wrong way but I'm glad you didn't come get me. I would've known immediately something was wrong and I wouldn't have let you take me into the hall and I would've lost it in the middle of the cafeteria in front of everyone. Trust me, the last thing Seattle Grace needs is another story about me for the gossip chain."

Danny had to smile at that logic. "It's good to see you Mere."

"You, too," Meredith smiled. "So, how are you?"

"I'm fine."

"Liar."

"Meredith."

"Danny, for all intents and purposes, you've lost two fathers this year. You are not fine."

"No, I'm not," Danny agreed. "But I'm finer that you and Delinda are right now."

Meredith sighed. "It is so weird."

"What?"

"To be here and know that he's not inside watching us to make sure you don't lay a hand on his favorite niece."

Danny grinned and put an arm around Meredith's shoulders, kissing the top of her head. They sat there for a few moments until the silence was broken by the ringing of Meredith's cell phone.

"It's probably Alex. He said he was gonna call and check on me when he got to my house," Meredith said pulling her cell phone from the holder clipped to her pants. She checked the name on the caller ID and winced. "Finn. Shoot."

"As in the new boyfriend?"

"As in the new boyfriend that I neglected to tell I was skipping town for a couple weeks. Uh, do you mind?"

"Nah. I'll go see what the hotel sent over by way of food. You still like cheesecake?"

"Thanks Danny," Meredith smiled as he went inside. Then she took a deep breath and answered. "Hey Finn."

"Hey. I know you're probably working so I won't be long."

"No, I'm not working."

"Your schedule change?"

"No. I had to take off."

"Izzie?"

"No. Me. Uh, I know this is going to sound really thoughtless and incredibly bad but I'm not in Seattle right now. I'm in Las Vegas."

"Las Vegas?"

"You remember how I told you my mom's brother lives in Vegas?"

"Yeah. Did something happen?"

"Yeah," Meredith said quietly. "He, uh, he died last night. It was sudden and we had no warning and-"

"Meredith, stop. I get it. It's okay."

"I am so sorry I didn't call you and tell you."

"Don't worry about it. Just worry about you and your family right now. We'll talk when you get back."

"Finn, thank you so much for being so understanding."

"It comes in handy in my line of work."

Meredith giggled. "Okay. I'll call you when I get back. That should be in about two weeks if not sooner."

"Don't worry. You just be there for your family and when you get home, I'll be there for you."

"Okay. Night Finn."

"Night."

Meredith hung up the phone and lay down on the ground. He was the greatest, sweetest, most patient man in the world and she didn't deserve him at all. There were several reasons to back up that statement but it essentially all boiled down to one.

She didn't love him.

&&&&&&&&&&&

"What," Derek exclaimed. "Ed died?"

Webber nodded sadly. "Yeah. He was a great guy. Scary," he admitted. "But he loved his family."

Derek looked down at the floor. "So I gather."

Webber gave a small smile. "It's a good thing you never met him, otherwise you and I probably wouldn't be talking right now."

Derek frowned. "What do you mean?"

"Well," Webber said. "He was in the CIA. And he really loved his family."

The brain surgeon figured it out. "Oh," he muttered. He then stood up. "I'm going to go pack."

"To go where?"

Derek gave Webber a "What do you think" look. "Vegas."

Webber stood up and walked to the door, blocking it. "No, you're not."

"Get out of my way, Richard," Derek told him forcefully, but not laying a hand on his boss, instead standing opposite him, and waiting.

"No."

Derek sighed. "Come on Richard, how do you expect me to make it up to her?"

Webber shrugged, but didn't move away from the door. "You do the right thing by her. She obviously didn't tell you, Derek, because she didn't want you to go with her. In fact the last thing she said to me was "He doesn't know. It's none of his business'."

"But…" Derek trailed off as he realized this was true. "What am I supposed to do, then? Just sit here and wait while the woman I love is—" He stopped and Webber gave him a wide eyed look.

&&&&&&&&&

Addison Shepherd was not having a good day.

She had three patients with newborns in the NICU, she'd jammed her fingers into wall and they were beginning to turn colors, and last but not least her husband was avoiding her.

She sighed as she took a seat in the cafeteria.

"Have you talked to her?"

"Nah. I'm gonna call when I get to the house tonight. I figure she could use a few hours to be with Mrs. D and Delinda."

Addison realized that she was hearing the voices of Cristina Yang and Alex Karev. More than that they were being nice to one another. Yang and Karev were never nice to each other.

"How's Iz?"

"I called George a little while ago. Still won't come out of her room."

"Man. Mer and Izzie are officially the disaster twins," Yang sighed. "Hey did I tell you Shepherd cornered me before?"

"Wanted to know about Mer?"

"Yep. I told him to back off."

"Me too. Last thing Mer needs is her ex trying to 'help' her right now. How's Burke?"

"Better, I think. He doesn't really want to share too much right now."

"I kinda get that. You wanna come with me to Mer's later?"

"Yeah. Sounds good."

Addison heard a beeping and both interns took off.

So that's where Derek was. He was off somewhere worried about Meredith Grey.

Jerk.

&&&&&&&&&&

Alex sat on the couch flicking through the TV channels restlessly. He was at Meredith's house looking after Izzie. Well, not really. He was just there while she was up in her room doing whatever. And he was worried. About Izzie, and about Meredith.

And there was nothing on TV.

Suddenly, the phone rang, and the doctor jumped up to get it, glad to have an excuse to get up. "Hello?"

"Hey," a small voice replied from the other end. "Alex."

"Mer," Alex said, relieved. "How are you? Did you get there okay? Are Delinda and Jillian alright?"

Meredith gave a small smile, then realized that Alex couldn't see her smile over the phone. "Yeah, they're coping." She was a little bit surprised to hear Alex being so worried. "How's Izzie?"

Alex sighed, and looked at the stairs. "Uh, she's the same. I don't think George told her about you."

"Oh, well then don't tell her," Meredith said quickly. "I don't want her worrying or being sad or whatever right now. She liked Ed."

"Oh really?"

Of course the worried Alex was too good to be true. "Alex," she scolded. "You know what I mean."

"Yeah, I know," he said. "But I couldn't help it." He chuckled. "Anyway. Have you seen Danny yet?"

Meredith nodded. "Yep, he came around after I got here. God, I so wish guys would just cry like normal people when life gives them crap."

"Why?"

"I don't know if he told you, but Danny's father died a few months ago after he and Danny had just started to get close to one another again after this kind of fight they had," Meredith explained. "And Uncle Ed was like a second father to him, and now he's gone. Both of them are. And when Danny came round before…" Meredith sighed as tears filled her eyes. "He looked so sad, Alex. But he just reassured me that everything was going to be okay."

Alex walked to the couch and sat down again with the cordless. "He's a great guy Mer, but guys just don't cry. He'll deal with it in his own way."

"I guess," Meredith agreed. "Anyway, I'd better go. Say hi to everyone for me, and try to get Izzie to eat something."

"Will do," Alex told her. "Say hi to the rest of the gang for me, yeah? And say I'm sorry to hear about Ed."

"I will," Meredith nodded. "Bye, Alex."

"Bye, Mer."

&&&&&&&&&&

"Are you ready?"

Alex grabbed his keys from the counter and nodded at Cristina. "Yeah." He sighed and gestured to upstairs. "I wish Izzie would come with us."

They were dressed and ready to go to Denny Duquette's funeral. Izzie said she would be leaving after by herself.

Cristina nodded. "Yeah, me too." she paused. "Come on, we'd better go."

"Yeah."

Alex started to move away before Cristina stepped in front of him. "Wait," she said, and put her hands up to his collar and started to fix his tie. Noticing the strange look that she received, the doctor who normally hated being close to people shrugged. "Your tie was crooked," she explained.

Alex showed his thanks with a slight nod of the head. "So we're really going to do this, huh?" He shoved a hand in one of his suits pockets.

"Ah huh," Cristina told him. "Izzie needs us."

"Yeah."

"She'd do the same for us."

"Yeah."

"She'd be so annoyingly comforting that you'd want to kill her," Cristina muttered, and Alex grinned, knowing this was true.

"So we'd better go then," Alex said, and lead the way out of Meredith's house.

&&&&&&&&&

Meredith pulled some of her hair away from her face and clipped it back. She stared at herself in the mirror for a moment before she exited the bathroom and entered Dee's bedroom. Her cousin as was staring at her feet reflected in her full length mirror.

"I hate these shoes. But they go with this dress," Delinda said.

"I hate this dress but I didn't pack it and I wore the pants suit last night," Meredith returned.

Delinda let out a breath. "This is really happening right? I mean last night with everyone I could pretend it was just some weird party. But today," her voice shook.

Meredith didn't like to hug but she'd never really thought twice about it when it came to Delinda, Aunt Jill, and Uncle Ed. So at that moment she crossed the room and hugged Delinda from behind. "We can do this, Dee. You, me, and Aunt Jill. We can do this together. Because last name or not, we are the Deline girls and we can do anything if we stick together."

"You sound like Ness." Delinda's eyes spilled over. "I really want her here right now."

"Me too," Meredith whispered. "But Dee, we're still us. We were us before Ness and we became a different us after. You and me. Birth to earth, remember?"

"Cradle to the grave," Delinda nodded.

"And womb to tomb," Meredith finished. "We're gonna be okay."

"It sounds odd but I wish Aunt Ellis was here."

"So do I," Meredith admitted.

A knock at the door broke them back to earth and Meredith released Delinda.

"Come in," Delinda called.

Sam entered. She looked elegant in her sleeveless black dress with her hair pulled back. "Uh, your mom says-It's time to- The car's here."

"Are you riding with us?"

"No. Mary and I are gonna ride with Mike and Casey behind you guys. Jillian lent Mike the keys to Ed's car."

"Okay. We're coming Sam."

"Okay." Sam left.

"Dee?"

"I'm ready."

"Really?"

"No. But I have to be."

"Yeah."

The girls went downstairs together.

&&&&&&&&&

_They shine a little brighter, they feel a little more _

_They touch your life in ways no one has ever done before _

_They love a little stronger, they live to give their best _

_They make our lives so blest, so why do they go so soon? _

_The ones with souls so beautiful _

_I heard someone say—_

He'd told her once that he'd hated funerals. It was late at night and they'd been sharing bits of themselves. She'd told him that she laughed at funerals and he'd countered with the fact that he hated funerals. They'd been too depressing for him even before his heart condition developed.

And now Izzie sat with Cristina, George, Alex, and Callie in the back of the church listening to a priest who hadn't known Denny drone on about the Lord giving and taking.

And all Izzie wanted to do was giggle.

Well, really it was better than screaming.

_There must be Borrowed Angels, here in this life _

_They come along, into this world, and make this world bright _

_But they can't stay forever _

_Cause they're heaven sent _

_And sometimes, heaven needs them back again_

Mike, Danny, and Casey walked up the aisle of the church holding onto one side of the casket while some of the other guys from the Montecito security team held the other. Meredith could see Mitch watching sadly, unable to do one last thing for a man he'd respected as she, Jillian, and Delinda followed the procession before sliding into a pew. Mary and Sam sat behind them and they were joined by Mike and Casey but Jillian had insisted that Danny sit with them in the first pew.

Meredith fiddled with the tissues she held as she sat listening to the Reverend talk about Ed. She had the distinct impression that he was someone who'd known Ed a long time and that made her feel better somehow. He wouldn't have wanted a stranger there today.

Izzie looked around the graveyard. She looked at statues, trees, headstones, anything so she wouldn't have to look at the casket in from of her.

Ultimately her gaze fell on Derek Shepherd of all people. He stood next to Addison holding her hand. She looked at Addison closely. The woman was staring at the casket but Derek was staring straight ahead and Izzie had a feeling that if Addison were to let go of his hand he wouldn't notice.

Looks like Izzie wasn't the only one who wanted to be a thousand miles away right now.

_They reach a little deeper, they see what's in your soul _

_And even when they leave you know, you'll never let them go _

_The world's a little richer, just cause they came along _

_Their love goes on and on, so why do they go so soon? _

_The ones with souls so beautiful. I heard someone say—_

Meredith closed her eyes as tears trickled down her cheeks and turned her head away from the casket in front of her. She couldn't watch this part. She felt Aunt Jillian take her hand and looked at her but Jillian was staring at the casket, one hand in Meredith's and one hand in Delinda's.

Meredith realized Jillian was reassuring herself that she was not alone in this and she held Jillian's hand in both of hers.

_There must be Borrowed Angels, here in this life _

_They come along, into this world, and make this world bright _

_They can't stay forever, cause they're heaven sent _

_And sometimes, heaven needs them back again _

_How else can you explain why they're here and not here to stay? _

_I believe there must be, must be_

Izzie took a sip of her beer as she, Cristina, Alex, and George sat in Joe's later that night. She looked around at the customers in the bar and sighed.

Life went on.

_Borrowed Angels, here in this life _

_They come along, into this world, and make this world bright _

_But they can't stay forever, cause there heaven sent _

_And sometimes heaven needs them back again. _

_And sometimes heaven needs them back again._

Meredith sat in a chair in the security room. It was quieter than normal mainly because most of the staff was in Mystique having a drink and dinner.

But she had wanted to be by herself for a while and this seemed like the only place to do it. She watched the action on the floor via the screens. Maybe it was her but it seemed more subdued than normal but still the action went on.

Because life went on.

Meredith looked to her left and saw Ed's office. It was dark and still. She looked back at the monitors.

And then sometimes it didn't.

**Song Credit goes to Kristen Chenoweth.**


	4. Grab your ruby slippers we're going home

"So I'll be seeing you, right?" Delinda said, her voice wavering as she hugged her cousin. "You'll come visit?"

"Oh Dee," Meredith said, resting her head on Delinda's shoulder. "Of course." She broke the hug and moved back, afraid she would cry. She couldn't start crying in front of Delinda, otherwise her cousin would never stop. "Bye, Dee."

She moved on to Danny. "Hey."

"Hey." The head of surveillance and security took his sunglasses off and looked down at the doctor. They looked at each other, needing no words. Meredith hugged Danny. "Don't go, Mer," he pleaded with her.

"I'm sorry," she told him as they pulled away. "I have to, I've got Bailey on my back and with Izzie how she is and—"

"Yeah, I know," Danny said. "I just think Dee would cope better with you around." He paused. "Okay, so all of us would cope better with you around."

Meredith managed a smile. "And I'd be better in Vegas, too, but…" she trailed off and gestured to the car that was waiting behind her. "I'd better go."

"Yeah."

"Yeah." Meredith nodded. "So uh…this is goodbye, huh?"

Danny smiled. "Yeah…uh, listen, Mer, I've gotten some bodyguards that will stay with you in Seattle."

"What?" Meredith's hand, which was on the door of the car, froze, and she whipped around. "Why? I don't need any bodyguards!"

"Not usually, but this situation is different," Danny tried to explain.

"Oh yeah? How?"

Danny lowered his voice. "Ed's death wasn't accidental, Meredith."

Meredith was stunned. She didn't know what to say.

"I'm sorry we didn't tell you before, but…"

"You mean someone killed him on purpose?" Meredith managed to say with a sob. "Why would someone want to kill Uncle Ed?"

"He was in the CIA, Mer," Danny reminded her calmly. "So, anyway, we don't know if this guy wants to finish the job and kill Ed's family as well, but we're being extra careful. Dee and Jillian are under surveillance and have bodyguards and I'm afraid that you'll have to have bodyguards as well."

Meredith accepted this sadly, shaking her head. "He was a good guy, Danny."

"I know."

The driver in the car honked the horn.

"You'd better go," Danny said, and opened the door for the doctor. "Bye," he said as she sat down, and he closed the door.

The car drove off, and Danny walked over to Delinda as they watched it out of sight.

&&&&&&&&

"George, what the hell was all that about," Callie asked as she followed him into the house.

"I have no idea. Meredith," he shouted, setting his bag down. "Izzie!"

"Kitchen," Izzie's voice answered.

George made a beeline for the kitchen, Callie behind him.

"Where's the pizza?"

"What," George looked confused.

"I thought you were bringing pizza. Mer! He doesn't have the pizza."

Meredith entered the kitchen, her hair wet. "Iz, Alex and Cristina are bringing the pizza," she rolled her eyes. "Hi guys."

"Back up. Mer, welcome home. How is everyone? And, oh yeah, who are the two guys on the front porch?"

"Sal and Tony. Didn't they introduce themselves?"

"Actually, they did," Callie said. "Are you aware that there are two other large men on the back porch?"

"Pete and Bruno. Bruno's the bald one," Meredith sat down.

"Okay and back to my question. Who are they?"

"When Alex and Cristina get here," Meredith folded her arms.

"Mer-"

"Forget it George. I've tried. It's not going to work. She's not budging."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously. I have to tell you guys and I have to tell Dr. Webber why I suddenly have large men outside my house but I do not have to go through it more than twice. So, we wait."

"How long?"

"Well, I called the hospital and Debbie told me that Alex was assisting the She-Shepherd on a case so I left him a message. He should be getting it soon."

"What'd it say?"

"I'm home. Bring pizza and Cristina. No veggies or I'm making you watch Walk the Line again."

"Good threat."

"I liked it."

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"Well, yeah, of course I checked it."

Derek gave Alex a look while Cristina, who was standing next to Alex, was trying not to laugh. "Keep your hat on, Karev, all I'm saying is that—"

Suddenly, "Devil or Angel" by Bobby Vee flooded out of a phone. Alex quickly reached into his pocket. "Sorry," he said to the attending, as he looked at the caller ID, which read _Angel_.

Otherwise known as Meredith to Alex, as a kind of ode to their time in Vegas. But of course Alex didn't tell Shepherd this.

"Hey!" Alex said into the phone. "What's up?"

Meredith sounded happy to hear him when she said, "Hey, Alex! If you got my message you know I'm back. I'm with Izzie right now, and I understand that you and Cristina are going to be home in a few hours. Bring pizza, please, because we're sad and pizza is good. But no veggies."

Alex nodded and said okay.

"Oh, and you'd better not tell McDreamy I'm back or I'll kick your ass, okay?"

Alex rolled his eyes and smiled. "Whatever. Bye." He finally hung up and gave Cristina a look.

Derek frowned. "May I ask what that phone call that just wasted three minutes of my time was about?"

"No," Alex and Cristina told him, and with that, they walked off.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"Okay, so, now can we have an answer," George asked.

"C'mon George. At least wait until after we eat something Izzie made this afternoon," Cristina spoke up.

"No, it's okay," Meredith drew her knees up. She looked around at each of them and took a deep breath. "First of all, I want to say thank you for the flowers. Aunt Jill loved them."

"No problem," Alex smiled. "Least we could do."

"I know I never met him but he sounded like a great guy, Meredith. I'm sorry you lost him," Callie said.

"Thanks Callie. I think he would've liked you. He always said George had good taste in women," Meredith smiled.

George blushed a little and quickly changed the subject, "So, the guys?"

"Right. I need to apologize for two things. One is the fact that I just sprang them on you and two, and believe me, there are no hard feelings if you two want to move out, I have to keep them."

"Mere?" Alex raised an eyebrow.

"This does not leave this house," Meredith warned.

"Should I leave?" Callie asked.

"No and Cristina, you can tell Burke but he cannot tell anyone," Meredith warned.

"Understood."

"Ed wasn't in the army. He was CIA and his death wasn't random. Danny sent them home with me until he can be sure that no one is looking to finish the job by taking out the rest of his family."

"Oh my God."

"Yeah. Iz, I'm sorry. I know this probably qualifies for the worst timing ever award. You have way too much to deal with right now so I will understand if you can't handle this."

"You're throwing me out? Nice Mere. I'm unemployed."

"You want to stay?"

"If I was gonna go, I would've left after you chose to stay friends with Alex after we broke up the second time."

Meredith smiled and bumped Izzie gently. Then she looked around and rose an eyebrow when she saw George's face.

"Uh, Callie. Poke George so he starts breathing again. He's turning colors."

Callie poked her boyfriend and he stared blankly at her and then Meredith.

"He was in the CIA?"

Meredith couldn't help it. George's voice sounded so girly and panicked that she started to giggle.

"Oh hell, I think she's cracked," Cristina said.

That just made Meredith laugh harder.

"You okay, Mere," Alex asked.

"Uh-huh," Meredith nodded. "But I'm having trouble breathing," she got out.

Izzie snorted and Meredith fell against Alex in giggles.

"Welcome home, Kid," he said in her ear.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Alex woke up and rubbed his eyes blearily as his door opened and someone climbed into bed next to him. Meredith had given him Ellis' old room for the night because his body was starting to leave an imprint on her couch. "Meredith," he asked quietly.

"Yeah, it's me," she whispered back, tugging the covers up to her chin. Alex glanced at her.

"What's wrong?"

"Night time means hours lying in a bed, and if you can't sleep it means lying in a bed for hours that seem endless, meaning you have an unending amount of time to think about all the crap you've done."

"I see," Alex said. "Well, how about you tell me about some of this stuff?"

"You don't want to hear my problems," Meredith told him. "Trust me."

Alex shrugged. "It's only sleep I'm missing out on. Besides, I love gossip."

Meredith smiled. "Right."

"So, what's new?"

Meredith sighed. "Finn is great."

"Well, yeah, he is," Alex had to agree. "He cares for you."

"Exactly," Meredith said. "And that's the problem. He's the nicest guy imaginable. And the thing is, even though I want to, I _really_ do, I just don't love him."

Alex looked up at the ceiling. "Well, duh. You're still not over McDreamy." Alex paused then quickly corrected himself. "I mean, Shepherd."

Meredith managed to crack a small smile. "I guess not. But can't Finn see that? Why doesn't he just leave me?"

Alex shrugged. "Because he likes you."

"But I'm only going to hurt him!" Meredith protested.

"You know, McVet is the first guy you've been with since Shepherd who isn't inappropriate," Alex commented, earning a playful punch from Meredith.

"Shut up," Meredith told him, but knew that it was true. "Let's move to a different topic, okay?"

"Okay," Alex agreed, adjusting his pillow. "What do you think the She-Shepherd will do when she finds out?"

Meredith held a hand to her forehead and groaned. "Kill me, probably, or never let me forget it."

"Or make your life hell," Alex muttered, thinking of the time he'd spent working for Addison lately.

"Thanks, that makes me feel so much better," Meredith told him sarcastically.

"Whatever," Alex said, waving a hand dismissively. "I say she's just going to have a cry then go back to New York and be with Mark. At least he wants her around."

"Yeah, probably," Meredith agreed. "But then that still leaves me with Finn and Derek."

"Well, there's a very simple way to choose," Alex joked. "Which one's better?"

Meredith, knowing what he meant, took her pillow and whacked Alex. "Shut up."

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"Up or down?"

"Don't ask me hair questions."

"Callie?"

"Half and half."

"Thank you," Meredith quickly redid her hair in the elevator door and looked at Callie for final approval, "Yeah?"

"Uh," Callie smoothed a bump in Meredith's hair. "There. Perfect."

"Thanks. See, why can't you be more like Callie?"

"Because it's too early and I haven't had any coffee yet," Cristina whined. "Why do you let Alex stay at your place?"

"Because he's a good friend."

"But he drank the last of the coffee."

"He's still a good friend." At Cristina's look Meredith sighed, "Fine. I will buy you a large coffee after my meeting with Webber."

"Thank you. What do you think he's gonna say about those two," Cristina nodded to the two men in the back of the elevator.

"I think he's gonna fire me."

"Don't worry Doc. Danny called and talked to him," Pete said.

"I know. But, as smooth as Danny is, I'm still a little worried."

"Well, this is me. Good luck Meredith. Bye Cristina," Callie got off.

"Bye."

"So, what do we think? Good for George or not," Cristina asked.

"Good, I hope. I'm letting her move in."

"What?"

"Alex, too, if he wants to."

"Seriously."

"Seriously. Told Alex this morning that if he wants it, he's got my old room and Callie can just sleep with George."

"What about you?"

"I'm gonna move into my mom's old room."

"Seriously?"

"It's time." Meredith sighed. "It's time for something else, but we can talk about that later. Say hi to Burke for me and thanks for riding all the way up with me."

"Sure. See you later."

Meredith, Pete, and Sal walked down the hall.

"Hi Patricia. Is he ready for me?"

"Oh, hi Dr. Grey. He'll be just a minute. He's having our new doctor sign papers."

"Okay." Meredith took a seat while Pete and Sal tried miserably to blend in. After a few minutes the door opened and Meredith looked up from her magazine as Richard came into the hall. His head was turned as he talked to the man behind him.

"It's a pleasure to have you. Your reputation for surgery, and other things, precedes you."

Meredith nearly dropped the magazine she was reading when she recognized the man following Richard into the hall.

"Thank you. It's nice to be here. Meredith, how are you?"

"Mark?"

"It's good to see you again." He turned to Richard, "I'll see you later boss."

"Bye."

"Meredith," he nodded at her and walked away.

"He works here?"

"Just hired him. I know he stirred things up last time he was here but he's the best and with Dr. Edwards retiring, we need a new plastics man."

"Uh-huh. Did you tell Derek or Addison?"

"Not yet."

_That'll be interesting. I cannot wait to tell the gang._

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Meredith walked through the courtyard briskly to the groups table. She found George, Cristina and Alex sitting and eating their lunch, talking about their patients.

"Hey!" she greeted them with a smile as she sat down next to George.

Cristina looked up from her sandwich and sighed. "Ok, spill," she said. "What do you know that we don't?"

Meredith grinned. "Nothing…except for that a certain plastic surgeon is back in town – to stay!"

"Wait," Cristina said. "McSteamy's back?"

George rolled his eyes. "Can't we just call him Mark?"

Alex gave George a shrug. "Dude," he said, glancing at the girls, knowing it was a lost cause. "Don't even try." He turned to Meredith. "So, you say that he's back?"

"Yep," Meredith confirmed with a nod. "I saw him coming out of the Chief's office, and he said something about a contract or whatever. So he's here to stay."

"Hm," Alex said thoughtfully.

Cristina looked at him, "Hm, what?"

"Hm meaning I wonder what this means for the McMarrieds," Alex explained. "McSteamy's going to want to get the McHot she-Shepherd back, but McDreamy will want to pretend that he actually cares, until he figures that he can't be bothered, and then he's going to want to get back with Meredith, and it would all be great, but then something bad will happen because it always does."

Meredith frowned, but a small smile played on her lips. "You have a funny logic, Alex."

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Meredith knocked on the door to Preston's room. She'd been hanging out for a few hours while Pete and Sal filled out some forms because apparently Dr. Webber had decided the only way for them to be there and not stand out was to stick them in a set of scrubs. Meredith rolled her eyes. The only place her guards wouldn't stick out was at a Godfather convention.

"Come in," Preston called.

Meredith poked her head in, "Hi Dr. Burke. I was-oh. I didn't know you had company. I'll come back." She smiled at the older couple in the room.

"It's alright Grey. Mama, Dad, this is Meredith Grey. She's an intern here at the hospital."

Meredith came in and smiled at Mr. and Mrs. Burke, "It's a pleasure to meet you."

Mrs. Burke smiled, "You too. I like meeting Preston's friends. And you have clothes on."

"Excuse me?"

"Nothing," Preston said quickly. "Were you looking for Cristina?"

"Yeah. I wanted to know if she was gonna help me move my stuff tonight."

"Ah, she told me you're letting Karev move in. Have you hit your head recently?"

"Dr. Bailey asked me the same thing. Alex is a good friend and I think it might be better for him and Izzie if he were around more."

"Okay," Preston didn't look convinced.

"If you see Cristina, tell her I'm looking for her."

"I will."

"Mr. and Mrs. Burke it was a pleasure to meet you."

"You too," Mr. Burke smiled.

Meredith headed down the hall to the elevators.

"Meredith," Cristina called.

"Hey. I was just looking for you in Burke's room. I met his parents."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah, his mom made some crack about me having my clothes on."

"Long story. I'll tell you tonight. So, what's up?"

"I've been thinking that Addison deserves a warning."

"About what?"

"McSteamy."

"Why are you so nice?"

"It's not me being nice. It's me knowing the feeling of being blindsided. It doesn't feel good."

"You're way too nice."

"Think what you want, I'm gonna tell her."

"Fine. Can I come with you?"

"No. You just wanna see her expression."

"Please take a picture."

"Good-bye Cristina," Meredith got on the elevator.

"Mean!"

Meredith rode up to OB and as she got off the elevator she turned to her guards, "You guys stay here. This is going to be hard enough to hear without having an audience. I'll scream if I need you."

The guys nodded and took positions on either side of the elevator.

"Hey, have you seen Dr. Montgomery-Shepherd," Meredith asked the nurse at the counter. She pointed to Addison, who was doing charts a few feet away. "Thanks." Meredith took a deep breath and walked over. "Um, Dr. Shepherd?"

Addison looked up. "Hello Meredith. I didn't realize you were back."

"I'm not on until Saturday. I had to talk to Dr. Webber about something which brings me to why I'm here."

"Alright."

"When I got to Dr. Webber's office I had to wait because there was someone in there with him signing a contract."

"We have a new doctor?"

"Yeah. He's taking Dr. Edwards' place."

"Edwards? He's in plastics, right?"

"Yeah. Dr. Shepherd, it was Mark Sloan."

"Oh."

"Yeah. I just thought you should know."

"Thanks Meredith."

"Sure. Goodnight."

"Right."

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Addison twisted her hair nervously as she paced up and down outside the trailer. She'd just gotten the news from Meredith a few hours before, and as far as she knew, Derek didn't know yet.

So she had to tell him.

And honestly, she didn't have a clue what to say. So, she paced. She didn't know how long exactly she'd been pacing before Derek's car pulled up in front of the trailer and the brain surgeon got out. The somewhat carefree look on his face reaffirmed Addison's knowledge of the fact that Derek didn't know.

So, as he came over to kiss her on the cheek, she stepped away and sighed.

"What's wrong?" Derek asked. "Is everything okay?"

Addison shook her head slightly. "Um, you have to promise to not get mad or anything, okay?"

He gave her a suspicious look. "Why would I get mad?"

"Well, the thing is…um," Addison paused. "Mark's back."

"What?" Derek asked, thinking that maybe, _maybe_, he'd heard incorrectly.

"He signed a contract with Seattle Grace," Addison explained. "He's here to stay."

Derek frowned. "And Richard is okay with this?"

Addison rolled her eyes. "Derek, it's not a crime for him to be working in the same hospital as you or me. Richard couldn't just say no, especially since Mark's one of the best."

"So, I'm just supposed to stand around and pretend like I don't want to deck the guy every time I see him?" Derek asked.

Addison gave a small, tired smile. "It'll be okay."

&&&&&&&&&&&&

"How does this look," Meredith asked George as he moved a box into the corner to make room for one of Meredith's comforters.

"Like you're not going to help us move _your_ stuff from _your_ old room into _your_ new room," George said.

"Leave her alone, O'Malley. She's dumping the vet tonight," Alex said. "Books?"

"Over there," Meredith pointed.

"Okay. By the way, don't look too good. Don't want to crush the guy. My suggestion? Wear that purple track suit."

"I look horrible in that."

"Exactly."

"Not a bad idea," Meredith considered. "Oh. I lent it to Cristina." She sighed. "This is way too nice." Meredith walked into the closet and came back out in a black T-shirt and jeans. "There. Simple."

"You want some back-up?"

"You mean besides Pete and Sal? No, I'll be fine. I won't be long." She grabbed a jacket. "I'll bring dinner."

"No. Callie's cooking," George said. "We'll save you some."

"Thanks," Meredith smiled. Then she groaned. "I'm such a bitch." With that she walked out of her room, down the stairs, and out the front door. She got into her car and drove over to Finn's. She knocked on the door and turned to look out at the scenery.

"Meredith?"

She turned around to face Finn. "Hey."

"Hi. Did we have plans?"

"No. Finn, I think we should talk."

"Okay. You wanna come in?"

"No. Finn, you're a great guy. You're kind and you're sweet and you know just how scary and damaged I am and you didn't go screaming in the opposite direction."

"But?"

"But, I realized something in Vegas. I don't deserve you."

"Meredith-"

"No. I don't and there's a simple reason for that."

"You don't love me."

"No, I don't. I am so sorry."

"It's okay."

"Oh you are way to good and kind."

"No, I'm not. Meredith, I don't think we can be friends."

"I know. I'm sorry for it but I know." Meredith smiled, "You'll find her you know."

"What?"

"You will find someone else to share those plans with. She's out there. I know without a doubt that she is out there. She'll love you the way Liz did. Don't give up, okay? Promise?"

"I promise."

"Good. I should go. Bye Finn."

"Oh wait."

"What?"

"Just wait one minute," Finn went back in the house for a moment and then came back out. "I got this for your birthday but I figure I can give it to you now."

"Oh. Finn, I can't accept that." Meredith looked at the box he held out to her.

"I wouldn't give it to anyone else."

"Okay." Meredith took it. "Take care."

"You too."

Meredith walked away and got into the back seat of her car, opting to let one of the guys drive. She opened the box and smiled. It was a charm bracelet with two charms. A dog and a horse. There was a note taped to the bottom of the box. She turned it over and read. _I may have plans but this is a reminder that the best things in life are unplanned. Love Finn._

Meredith cried softly the whole way home.


	5. Happy Birthday Baby

"Gee, you're chirpy today, Dr Grey," Mark Sloane said as he watched the intern put a chart back.

"I guess I am," Meredith replied.

"Any reason why?"

Meredith grinned. "Well, I've just finished a shift, and it's my birthday today."

Mark turned to her. "Happy birthday, then." He flashed a smile. "Are your friends giving you a party?"

Meredith nodded. "Yeah, a small one, though, because we're still trying to get Izzie back on her feet and a sudden burst of happiness might break her down again."

"Little doses," Mark agreed, and then his pager went off. He made a face as he read it, and said, "Well, I need to go. Happy birthday!" he waved goodbye and left her by the charts.

&&&&&&&&&&&&

"Surprise!"

Meredith grinned as she walked into her townhouse, her friends all holding up streamers and surrounded by balloons. "Aw," she said, looking at all of her friends. "You guys…"

"And me, too!" someone called out, and suddenly Meredith's eyes were covered by someone's hands. "Guess who?"

His voice was unmistakable and she recognized him instantly. "Danny!" she exclaimed, pushed his hands away and threw her arms around him. "What are you doing here?"

"I couldn't let the Montecito's favorite niece celebrate her birthday alone, could I?" Danny laughed, giving her a grin.

Meredith playfully whacked him on the arm. "I've got friends here, too, y'know."

"Of course," Danny said, looking at the other interns with an exaggerated roll of his eyes.

"Anyway," Izzie piped up. "How about we go into the kitchen and have some dinner? Preston and Callie cooked."

"Thanks guys," Meredith smiled. "I know cooking a big meal isn't exactly prime day off fun, so thanks."

"Actually I enjoyed it," Callie said.

"Me too. Callie promised to give me her recipe for empanadas."

"Oh. You made them," Meredith smiled. "Yum."

"And after dinner we can have cake and open presents," Izzie smiled.

"You guys made a cake too?"

"I did," Izzie said.

Meredith frowned, and everyone else was silent. "You, uh, baked?"

Izzie smiled. "Yes, Mer, I baked a cake for you."

Meredith hugged her, and exchanged a glance with Alex, who gave a slight nod and smiled at her. "Thanks, Izzie."

Cristina suddenly blew on a whistle that had come out of some party supplies that George had bought on the way home. "So, how about we go celebrate the fact that you're now halfway to being dead?"

Everyone turned to look at her. She sighed. "Aw, come on, it was a joke I heard on the train ages ago."

Alex frowned. "Right…how about we just get the party started?"

Meredith grinned. "Yes. Let's."

&&&&&&&&&

"Most embarrassing sexual experience."

"I am _so_ not answering that."

"I bet I know Danny's."

"Seriously, you and Delinda have got to stop telling each other everything."

"Mine involved getting caught by a parent."

"Mine too."

"Let's move on. Meredith, why don't you open your presents," Izzie suggested.

Meredith looked at the small mountain of gifts and raised an eyebrow, "Maybe a few. Danny, what did Delinda do? Tell everyone at the Montecito to send a gift or she'd have them fired?" Meredith swung her legs off the couch and stood up. She walked over to the mound of presents and looked. "Oh I'll open this one first." She took an envelope off the top of the pile and smiled, "Mike has sent me the same thing every year since I've known him."

"I'm afraid to ask," Cristina said wryly.

Meredith opened the envelope and smiled, "Tickets to see Gladys Knight next time she's in town. Whoa. He sent a lot of tickets." Meredith dug into the envelope and pulled out a card. "Dear Mere, Happy birthday. Use the tickets this time. I sent a lot because you have a lot more people in your life who care. Love you. Mike." She looked at the tickets again, "Good seats. Maybe I will use them this time." She looked over at Izzie and frowned, "Izzie, what are you doing?"

"Making a thank you card list," Izzie smiled.

"Of course. Okay." Meredith put the envelope down on the empty end table and then she sat in an armchair. She reached for the closest gift to her. "This one is from….Dr. Bailey?"

Alex groaned. "O'Malley told her about tonight and she shoved that at me before I left tonight."

"Okay. Let's see what my boss gave me." Meredith opened it and smirked. "It's socks. About a dozen pairs of socks. The warm woolen kind."

"You are always complaining your feet are cold," Callie pointed out.

Meredith rolled her eyes and then looked up when the bell rang. "Did you guys invite someone else?"

"I bet it's Sam's present. She said it was gonna be delivered during the party," Danny said getting up.

"She didn't go overboard right? 'Cause I know how Sam gets when she tries to cheer people up. Like the time Mary broke up with that lawyer and Sam had all that ice cream flown in from Vermont."

"Who's Sam," Preston asked.

"She's the casino host at the Montecito."

"No, she's the _hot_ casino host at the Montecito," Alex corrected.

"Hey Mere," Danny said. "Sam asked that you read this before we brought the gift in," Danny handed her a card.

Meredith read it silently and then groaned, "Oh no."

"Meredith?"

"Dear Mere, Heard about Doc. Hope this makes you feel better. Happy Birthday. Love, Sam."

"She didn't."

"Oh, I think she did."

"I just hope this one is house trained," Izzie said.

"I think they are. Sam usually goes above the call of duty."

"They," Alex rose an eyebrow.

Meredith, George, and Izzie all got up at the same time and went to doorway.

"She got me _six_ dogs?"

"We cannot have that many in this house. We're never home."

"What about the guys? We could ask them to walk them during the day."

"Hey guys? Remember me? I'm home now for a while. I can watch them," Izzie said.

George looked at Meredith who shot a look at Alex who in turn looked at Callie.

"Izzie, are you sure," George asked.

"Yes. It'll give me something to do. So, what kind are they," she asked.

"Well, there's an American Foxhound named Cassie," Meredith said looking at one of the cages.

"This one is a Bloodhound and his name is Bugsy," George volunteered.

"Scottish Deerhound named Bella over here," Danny said.

Callie ventured closer and said, "This one is a Black and Tan Coonhound named Monty."

"There's a Pharaoh Hound by the name of Caesar in this cage," Alex said.

"And this one is an Irish Wolfhound named Chip," Cristina said.

"Bella, Cassie, Monty, Chip, Caesar, and Bugsy," Preston smiled. "Is anyone else sensing a theme?"

"The Bellagio, casino, Montecito, chip, Caesar's, and Bugsy Siegel. What can I say? Sam has a weird sense of humor," Danny grinned.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"Was that Meredith I just saw leaving?"

Mark looked up at his former best friend. "You mean Dr Grey?" he smirked. "Yeah."

"Hmm," Derek said, writing something into one of his patient's charts. "I thought her shift finished in a few hours."

"Oh, so you've memorized her working hours now?" Mark gave a small laugh.

"No," Derek replied. "It's just that she was supposed to be my intern for the day."

"Well, too bad," Mark told the neurosurgeon. "It's her birthday and she's gone home to celebrate with her friends."

Derek frowned. "Huh. She uh, didn't tell me."

Mark rolled his eyes. "And why she should have?" he asked. "You're with Addison, remember?"

Derek glared at him. "Yeah. I know."

"Yeah. So maybe you should focus on her birthday." Giving his old friend one last look, Mark put his chart back onto the rack and walked away.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"So, good birthday," Danny asked as he and Meredith sat on the couch a little after midnight. Alex, Izzie, Callie, and George had gone up a little while ago and Burke and Cristina had left an hour ago.

"Not bad. I liked my gifts," Meredith smiled, "and the surprise visitor."

"Speaking of gifts, I have one more for you," Danny got up and went across the hall and came back with a box wrapped in plain brown paper. He handed it to Meredith and sat back down. "Jill found it when she was cleaning out Ed's office."

"He always shopped ahead," Meredith put it on the couch in front of her and drew her legs up to her chest and rested her chin on her knees. "Danny, I don't want-"

"It's okay. You don't have to. Dee still won't open the wedding gift Ed bought."

Meredith closed her eyes, "I miss him every day."

"I promise you, it'll get better," Danny reached over and put a hand on her forearm.

Meredith nodded and opened her eyes. "Thank you for being here."

"Miss my future sister-in-law's birthday? Not a chance."

"So you are going to marry her?"

"If she'll have me."

"If she won't, I know a lot of nurses who will. Your picture's on my locker door. You have a lot of fans at Seattle Grace."

Danny laughed. "I'll keep that in mind. So, should I sleep down here?"

"Nah. I'll crash with Alex. You can take my room.

"You sure?"

"Yeah."

"Okay. I'm gonna lock up. You go on and change."

"Thanks Danny."

"Happy Birthday Mere."

&&&&&&&&

"Hey!" Meredith started to run as she saw the closing doors of the elevator a few feet in front of her. She saw Alex inside and shouted out his name. He looked up in time and put his hand in front of the door to stop it closing. The doors sprang back, allowing Meredith to walk inside.

"How did you sleep?" Alex asked his friend. "You were kind of tossing and turning all night."

Meredith sighed. "Uh, yeah. I was thinking about Ed."

Alex nodded. "First birthday you haven't heard or seen him, huh?" he gave her shoulder a comforting squeeze. "It's always hard."

"Who?" Meredith asked him.

"My uncle, dad's brother. He was more like a father to me than my dad," Alex explained. He knew that Meredith knew about how his father used to beat his mum and him. "And uh, one day, he died in a car crash. Drunk driver ran a red."

"I'm sorry," Meredith said softly.

Alex cleared his throat. "Me too…" he paused. "So, did you open the present from Ed that Danny brought?"

Meredith shook her head. "I…can't bring myself to do it, y'know? I don't want to remember because it reminds me that he's actually gone."

"I know," Alex assured her. "But sometimes, remembering isn't so bad. Open it, Mer. It may give you closure."

The elevator doors opened once again, and the two interns walked out.


	6. So you had a bad day

Danny checked his watch as he went in the front door of Meredith's house. Halfway to the airport he'd realized he left his cell phone on the nightstand of Meredith's bedroom. He went upstairs and saw Bella near the bathroom door. The Scottish Deerhound puppy was scratching at the door and whimpering. Danny bit back a smile. Looked like someone was getting a call from nature. He grabbed his cell phone and then he knocked on the door.

"Iz? It's me, Danny. Do you want me to let the dogs out or are you coming out soon?" There was no response. Danny listened. The shower wasn't running and a quick look in Izzie's room told him that she wasn't in there. "Izzie?" Danny tried the door. Locked. That didn't make any sense. Izzie was alone in the house. Why would she lock the door?

"Izzie," he said loudly just in case she'd fallen asleep in the tub. Meredith had told him that the ladies of the house had done that more than once and freaked out the guys. He pounded on the door hard. "Izzie! Open up."

There was still no response and now Danny was approaching full blown panic. He started to force the door open. Using a kick a cop friend had taught him the door slammed open and Danny's stomach dropped. Izzie was lying on the phone surrounded by bottles of pills.

Dialing 9-1-1 Danny dropped down beside her and checked her pulse. It was weak but it was there. He started to do CPR.

"I need an ambulance," Danny said and then rattled off Meredith's address. "Suicide attempt. She took pills…..No, I don't know what kind. Doctors live here. There are a lot of pills. I am. Good. Hurry."

He dropped the phone and kept going. "You are not doing this Izzie. I am not going to the hospital and telling Meredith or anyone else that you're dead. Do you hear me? You do not get to do this."

&&&&&&&&

"Meredith!"

The intern looked up at hearing the familiar voice calling her name in the locker room. "Danny?" She saw him walk hurriedly to her. "What's wrong?" she frowned. "I thought you were heading back to Vegas…"

"Uh, yeah, I was," Danny sighed. "But then I remembered I left something at your place, and I went back, and, to cut a long story short…" he paused, not wanting to tell her.

"Danny," Meredith warned.

"Alright, I found Izzie on the bathroom floor."

Meredith looked at him, alarmed. "What?" she exclaimed. "What happened?"

"She raided the medicine cabinet. There were bottles of pills on the floor around her, empty."

Even though Meredith knew that Danny would never make up such a story, and even though she knew that Izzie was down these days and wasn't how she used to be, she couldn't believe it. "No," she told Danny. "No, Izzie…Izzie wouldn't do that."

"She's in the hospital on the other floor," Danny said calmly, and took Meredith's arm. "Come on. Let's go get the others and go down and see her."

&&&&&&&&

"Dr. Bailey, where's Dr. Grey," Derek asked. "We have a patient."

"I was here first Derek. Where's Karev? I want to round."

"Dr. Bailey, have you seen Dr. O'Malley? He wanted in on my bypass patient today."

"Ah, good a gathering of doctors. Dr. Bailey, where's Dr. Yang? I thought you assigned her to me this morning."

Dr. Webber looked at the four attendings and then back at Bailey. She didn't look well so he took it upon himself to answer. "Dr. Bailey's interns have off today. Personal reasons."

"All of them?"

"Yes. Miranda, go home."

"I'm alright Chief."

"Go home or go be with them. You're not allowed to operate today."

"Yes sir," Miranda headed for the elevator and left Addison, Derek, Preston and Mark to look at Richard.

"What's going on?"

"Preston, you might want to go down to the pit. Cristina would probably like to see you right now."

"Alright," Preston put down his chart and headed for the stairs.

Richard faced his three remaining doctors.

"Richard?"

"Izzie Stevens tried to commit suicide this morning."

"Oh my God," Addison looked like she might be sick. "Karev said he thought she was making progress."

"I realize this is going to be impossible to keep under wraps but I'd appreciate it if you three would try and make it known that gossiping about this is not going to be tolerated."

"Yes sir," Mark nodded. "Should we do something for her roommates? Send them some food or something?"

"That's not a bad idea Mark. Call Joe and let him know what happened and see if he'll send some over."

"I'll do it," Derek said.

"Good. In the meantime we still have a hospital to run. Let's get going people."

Richard, Mark, and Addison walked off in different directions while Derek picked up the phone and dialed Emerald City Bar.

&&&&&&&&&

"I guess I've found your hiding spot."

Meredith looked up. "What are you doing here?"

Derek looked at her, concerned. "I heard about Izzie."

"Yeah."

"I'm sorry," he told her, and looked around the small hallway. "It must be hard watching your friend go through that."

Meredith sighed and shifted her position on the gurney. "Whatever, Derek. Why are you here, anyway?"

The neurosurgeon shrugged. "Just wanted to see how you were." He smiled. "And I wanted to see what the famous hallway looked like."

Meredith raised an eyebrow. "Famous?"

"Oh, please. Everybody knows that your gang has some super secret hiding spot."

Meredith rolled her eyes and smiled. "Seriously?"

"Seriously." Derek put his hands in his pockets and looked at her. He was about to say something when his pager beeped. He sighed and took it out of his pocket. "I need to go. See you round, Meredith."

"Yeah."

&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"Did she wake up?"

"Yeah and then the psych guys had to sedate her because she realized her plan didn't work."

Delinda blew out a sigh on her end. "How's Mere?"

"Not great. She disappeared a little while ago. I think she just wanted to be alone."

"Do you think I should fly up?"

"No. They'll be okay. They've got each other." Danny looked at his watch. "I'm gonna see if I can't make it home tonight after all."

"Don't leave if you think Mere needs you. I talked to Casey. He said to stay as long as you need to."

"That's very generous of him."

"He knows Danny."

"He knows?"

"He knows that they're family too."

Danny grinned, "I mention that I love you lately?"

"When I picked up the phone and said hello," Delinda said.

"Good. I'll call and let you know if I'm coming home after I talk to Meredith."

"Okay. Hey, give her my love and tell her if she needs me to call."

"I will. Bye."

"Bye."

Danny hung his cell phone up and slipped it into his pocket. He turned around and crashed into someone sending papers flying everywhere.

"Oh God. I am so sorry," Danny apologized to the woman he'd run into. He knelt down and started to help her pick up her papers.

"It's alright. No harm done," she said.

Danny looked up and smiled at the red head. "Here, I think that's the last of them."

"Looks like it," she straightened up. "Thanks. You just start?"

"Start?"

"Working here," she clarified.

"Oh. I don't work here. I'm just here visiting a friend. This is what I wear to work."

"Sorry."

"It's okay. Maybe you can help me. A friend works here but she's disappeared and I keep hearing about this secret hallway-"

"Danny!"

"Nevermind." He smiled and steered around the red head toward his second favorite blonde. "I was just about to come looking for you," he said as he put an arm around her shoulders as they walked away.

"Do you know who that was," Meredith asked Danny.

"Who? The redhead?"

"Yeah. That was Addison Forbes Montgomery Shepherd."

"That was McWife?"

"Yes," Meredith said.

"Not bad."

"Danny!"

"Sorry. Anyway, I talked to Dee and she said if you wanted me to stay that I should."

"Nah. I think we're okay."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. Go home. We're good. We'll call if we need anything." Meredith sighed and looked down.

Danny raised an eyebrow, "What?"

"Okay, if I tell you something can you promise that you won't tell anyone, including Delinda?"

"Alright."

"I'm late."

"Late for what?"

"No. Danny, I'm late," Meredith gave him a look and Danny got it.

"Oh. Oh! Oooohhh. Not good."

"No. Not good."

"So, have you taken a test or anything?"

"No. Not yet. You know I'm probably being silly. I'm just stressed out."

"How late," Danny asked quietly.

"Ten days."

"And you haven't taken a test yet?"

"No."

"Are you going to?"

"Probably. This isn't one of those ignore it and it'll go away type situations."

"No. C'mon, let's go check on the guys before I get in a cab," Danny said kissing the top of Meredith's head as they walked further down the hall.

Neither of them noticed Derek exiting the elevator and watching the obvious closeness with a frown.


	7. Oh Boy

Derek stood in what he thought was an inconspicuous position as he watched hospital life go by. In particular, he was paying attention to the conversation going on between a certain intern and the head of security of the Montecito.

"Green doesn't suit you."

Derek turned around and sighed, glancing back at Meredith. "What do you mean?"

Mark grinned. "You're jealous, aren't you?"

Derek wrinkled his nose. "No."

Mark peered around his old friend to see Danny smiling at Meredith. He chuckled. "You are!"

"Shut up," Derek muttered. "What would you know?"

Mark sighed, looking a bit hurt. "I spent a lot of time watching you treat Addie like dirt, and yet she stayed with you. How do you think I felt?"

Derek turned back to watch Meredith with a shake of his head. "Yeah. Sorry." He sighed. "They all look at her in that way."

"They?" Mark raised an eyebrow.

"Alex. That guy. Everyone. They all give her looks as if they like they like her or something."

"You're just paranoid," Mark rolled his eyes. "Look, just make her an offer she can't refuse. Declare your undying love for her. Just do something that will stop you from standing behind a wall looking like an idiot, will you?"

Derek gave a laugh as Mark walked away with a smile. "Right."

&&&&&&&&&&&&

"Mere? You awake," Alex knocked on her door.

"In here Alex," she called from behind him.

Alex turned around and saw Meredith in the bathroom, cleaning up some of the debris from this morning. Bella was settled against the tub, snoozing, while Monty rested near the door.

Meredith was on her knees in the center of the room with a sponge.

"I couldn't sleep," she said.

"Yeah me neither. You just gave up trying before I did," Alex came in and grabbed another sponge and then sat down next to Meredith. "How long have you been in here?"

"Not sure. Bella wandered in a little while after me and Monty came in after Callie went downstairs. I think she's cooking."

"Why don't you do that?"

"Do what?"

"Cook when you can't sleep. Isn't that a chick thing?"

"Chick thing?"

"You know what I mean."

"Well, personally I think it's because the only thing I ever learned how to make without setting anything on fire was meatloaf," Meredith put her sponge down and sat down, her back to the wall.

"Seriously?" Alex sat next to her.

"Seriously. My grandmother tried to teach Delinda and me to cook one summer. Delinda, of course, took to it right away."

"Naturally."

"What can I say? That genius IQ thing comes in handy sometimes."

"Right," Alex nodded.

Meredith looked around her and sighed. "I think I'm mad at her. Is that horrible?"

"No. I think I'm a little mad at her too. I know Yang is. I heard her tell Burke."

"Did we not see it? Were we so happy that she was being normal that we ignored the warning signs?"

"Mere, don't. We did not ignore Izzie. How could we? We were all worried about her."

"You can't see what people won't let you," George's voice said.

"Hey George. You couldn't sleep either?"

"No, I could. Caesar couldn't. He needed to be let out," George sat down on the other side of Meredith.

"Maybe that's what I'll do tomorrow morning. I'll take the dogs for a walk," Meredith said.

"I'm hungry," Alex said after a minute.

"Let's go see what Callie made," George suggested, getting up. Alex was next and he took Meredith's hand and hauled her up.

The boys left first followed by the dogs. Meredith was last and she paused at the door. She looked around the bathroom and sighed.

"Really mad at her," she whispered before she shut off the light and followed the guys.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Meredith tried to keep up with the increasing speed that the dogs were dragging her along the path at. "Oh, come on!" she muttered as she broke into a run.

"You okay there?"

The voice made Meredith's stomach turn as she pulled on the leashes and the dogs stopped. "Derek. Hi."

He gave her a smile. "I see you brought the whole crew along."

"Huh?" Meredith said, and then looked down at the dogs. "Oh. Yeah." She didn't really know what else to say to him without letting "I think I'm pregnant" slip out, so she just shut her mouth and looked away.

"Are you okay?" Derek asked, frowning as he noticed her unusual quietness.

Meredith nodded. "Yes. I'm fine." She looked at her watch, then at him. "You know what? I'd better go."

"Okay," Derek said, standing aside to let the intern and the dogs pass. As he did, Cassie decided to knock him over as she walked past. Derek stumbled back and laughed as Meredith ran to him with an, "Oh my gosh!"

Meredith helped him up with one hand, while holding onto the leashes with the other. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Derek assured her.

Meredith frowned at Cassie. "Bad dog, that wasn't a very nice thing to do, you know."

Derek smiled. "Don't worry about it. I need to go. I'll be seeing you." With that, he walked away, leaving Meredith to look after him.

"Yeah."

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"What's with you?"

"What?"

"What's wrong with you? You're jumpy."

"Am not."

"Are so."

"Am not."

"Mere, what's wrong," Cristina asked.

"Nothing. I just didn't get a lot of sleep last night."

"You're lying."

"What?"

"You're lying. I know you. This isn't your 'I didn't get a lot of sleep last night' behavior. This is your 'I've got a secret' behavior." Cristina raised an eyebrow, "Did you do it with McDreamy last night?"

"What? No!" Meredith sighed. "At least not last night."

"What?"

"Prom."

"You and Derek got it on at prom? Damn that is just _so_ high school of you."

Meredith cringed and shook her head, sending her ponytail swinging. "I'm a moron," she announced to her friend.

"No. Well if you didn't use anything then yeah."

Meredith's silence got Cristina to look up, "Meredith?"

"I'm almost two weeks late."

"Holy crap, you're screwed."

"Thank you Cristina."

"I'm serious. The She-Shepherd? She's going to _hurt_ you Meredith. We're talking hiring someone to take you out hurt you."

"Have you met my bodyguards? They barely let patients near me."

"Anyone else know?"

"I told Danny I was late. He'll probably be calling to find out if I took a test yet and Alex knows I slept with Derek."

"Why did Evil Spawn know you slept with Derek before I did?"

"'Cause when I needed to talk you were taking care of Burke," Meredith explained.

"And Danny?"

"Brother I never had," Meredith said.

"Hmmm," Cristina frowned. "So, when are you going to take that test?"

"Tomorrow morning before my shift," Meredith said. "I am so not looking forward to it."

"You want me to be there?"

"No. I'll be okay."

"Just call if you change your mind. I'm your person remember?"

"I know. We better get back to work. Bailey's looking at us."

"Right. See you later."

"Bye."

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"You okay, Dr Grey?"

Meredith looked up at Mark. "Yeah…no…I'm just worried about Izzie, I guess."

Mark looked at her carefully. "Are you sure that's all?"

Meredith lowered her eyes and then changed the subject with, "I went for a run with my dogs this morning," because she didn't really want to tell Derek's former friend about her situation.

"Dogs?" Mark repeated. "How many do you have?"

"A lot," Meredith laughed. "I went for a run and I saw Derek."

"Huh."

"Yeah, Cassie, my American Foxhound, knocked him over."

Mark laughed. "Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"Well. He always _did _have a way with women," Mark grinned. "I would have liked to see that."

Meredith smiled and turned back to her work.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&&&

It was barely dawn and Meredith was sitting on the edge of the tub waiting for the timer to go off. She sighed.

Here she was waiting to see if a new life was on the way in the place where only forty-eight hours ago Izzie had tried to end hers.

Funny if you thought about it.

Just not ha-ha funny.

She looked up when the door creaked open and blew out a relieved breath when Bugsy nosed his way in. He made his way over to her and rested his head on her leg.

"Morning buddy. I'll let you out in a minute," Meredith whispered quietly.

:Ding!:

This was it. Moment of truth.

Meredith picked up the test and sucked in a breath before she looked at it.

The she put it down and picked up the phone.

She dialed the first person she thought of.

"Hello?"

"Hey, it's me. Can you come to Seattle?"

"Meredith?"

"Dee, I'm pregnant."

"I'm on the next flight."

"Thank you. When you get here, page me and I'll meet you at Joe's."

"Right. See you soon."

"Bye." Meredith hung the phone up and held it under her chin as she absently scratched behind Bugsy's ear. "Oh God."

&&&&&&&&&&

"I think you should tell them."

Meredith sighed, and nodded at her cousin. "Yeah, I probably should."

Delinda gave her a reassuring smile. "Don't worry, Mer. I'll come with you."

"Okay."

Delinda stood up and waited for Meredith, before they both walked out into the living room, where Cristina, Alex, George and Callie were gathered, watching a movie and munching on popcorn.

"Shut up," Alex was telling Cristina, and threw a handful of popcorn at her. Just as she was about to retaliate, George motioned for them to shut up.

"Hey guys," Delinda said, with forced cheer. "Um, we…"

"Have something to tell you," Meredith finished for her cousin. "Uh…it's…" she shook her head in frustration and sat down on the armchair. "It's stupid."

"Mer," Delinda said softly. "If you don't feel like--"

"No," Meredith interrupted, and then looked at her friends. "I'm pregnant."

Cristina's hand, which was full of popcorn and halfway to her mouth, froze and she stared at her best friend. "Seriously?"

"Seriously," Meredith confirmed.

"That's uh…cool," Alex spoke up. "I can just about imagine you with a kid." He smiled.

Meredith started to breathe semi normally again as her friends smiled at her. "Thanks, guys."

"We're all in this together, right?" Delinda smiled, and hugged her cousin.


	8. That's Life

"So, do you know what you're going to do?"

"Yes, I'm absolutely sure of what I'm going to do. That's why I'm on the phone with you at three in the morning instead of upstairs asleep in bed," Meredith rolled her eyes.

"That was hormones, right?"

"Danny, you are not helping."

"That was definitely hormones."

"Danny!"

"Sorry, sorry," the head of security apologized. "So, how did your friends take it?"

"Pretty supportive actually. The only one who doesn't know is Izzie."

"And Derek."

"And Derek," Meredith conceded. "Also? Derek's wife doesn't know either."

"Well, if you want to keep breathing, I'd suggest flying to a foreign country and sending the news by telegram."

"Okay, now? You sound like Cristina, which is just plain weird."

"Sorry."

Meredith closed her eyes as she leaned back against the wall. "I'm really scared Danny. I'm crouching on the floor, my back to the wall, pregnant by a man who doesn't belong to me, and I'm really scared."

"Mere, anything you need, you got it. You know that right? You need a new identity far away from Seattle and Derek Shepherd, I'll make it happen. You want Derek to wind up with a broken leg or two and no memory of how he got that way I'll make it happen."

Meredith smiled, "You sound like Ed."

"Well, I did inherit you guys, right?"

"Right. I need to think about this."

"I know. Take your time Mere. I'm here if you need me and Dee's really there if you need her."

"I know. Bye Danny."

Meredith disconnected and drew in a shaky breath.

What on Earth was she going to do?

&&&&&&&&&

Delinda woke up as her mobile rang next to her. She reached around on the bedside table, then grabbed the phone and put it to her ear.

"Hello?"

"God, Dee, you sound like crap."

Delinda rolled her eyes. "It's early here, Danny, can't you figure out the time difference and not wake me up at the break of dawn?" she told him affectionately.

"Shut up," he said. "How's Meredith?"

Delinda sighed. "She's um…" she frowned, the uncertainty present in her voice. "Good."

"I'm going to come up there and break his legs," Danny said angrily.

Delinda sighed. "Danny. She hasn't told him yet. Just, give it some time."

Danny, who was in his office at the Montecito, frowned. "Dee, have you met the guy?" he asked. "He's going to hurt her."

"He makes her happy," Delinda defended McDreamy. "And you and I have both got her back – as well as the gang up here."

"Yeah," Danny said. "Well, I'd better go, Mike's trying to tell me something. Keep me posted?"

"Of course," the blonde replied. "Now if you don't mind, I'd like to get some more sleep."

Danny laughed, said bye, and hung up.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&

Meredith leaned against the wall of the elevator as she rode up with Alex and George. Callie had the day off and she and Delinda were going to go shopping.

"Is it safe to leave Callie alone with Delinda," George asked.

"Dee's a world class shopper. It's in the blood," Meredith said.

"You get any sleep last night," Alex asked her.

Meredith shrugged, "A little. I called Danny."

"What'd he say?"

"Offered to help me disappear."

"Really?"

"Yeah. Then he offered to give Derek two broken legs with no memory of how he got them," Meredith smiled.

"I always did like Danny," George smiled.

"What can I say? We are family," Meredith said as the three stepped off the elevator.

"Yeah the Soprano's," Alex said.

"Nah. We're the Addams' family."

"So am I creepy or kooky," George asked.

"You're spooky."

"You're ooky," Meredith told Alex.

"And you?"

"I'm neat, sweet, and petite," she smiled. "Oh look, here comes Gomez and Morticia."

"With Fester right behind them," George teased.

Derek, Addison, and Mark were coming down the hall and Addison was talking over her shoulder to Mark.

"It's one date with my cousin. It won't kill you."

"Unless she's really hairy," Alex whispered into Meredith's ear.

Meredith started to giggle but she quickly sobered up when she saw the three attendings staring at her.

"Alex, that joke was disgusting," Meredith swatted her friend's arm. "Why do I hang out with you?"

"We live together," Alex deadpanned as he followed Meredith and George into the locker room.

"Interns get stranger every year," Mark commented.

"You noticed that too," Addison asked.

&&&&&&&&&&&&

"How are you?"

Meredith smiled as she leaned over the railing of the bridge inside Seattle Grace Hospital. "I'm…fine."

"I know I'm gonna sound like Izzie here, but, seriously?" she could tell, even though she was on the phone, thousands of miles away from him, that Danny was frowning with concern.

Meredith laughed. "Yeah, I'm fine. Seriously."

Derek, unknown to the intern, was on the other end of the bridge, watching her laugh. He frowned, who was she talking to that made her laugh so much, anyway?

"You're such a liar," Danny told Meredith jokingly, then turned serious. "Really, Meredith, if there's anything you need, just call me and I'll take the next flight out there."

"Relax," Meredith sighed. "I'll be sure to call you. And thanks for looking out for me." She smiled. Danny had been like her older brother, always watching out for her, and Delinda too. "So, how are you and Dee going?"

"Well, I think it's going to be a very long engagement, the way she's going with all the stuff she says she's got to prepare."

Meredith laughed. "Sounds like Dee."

Derek rolled his eyes. There it was again. Why did this guy make her laugh so much?

Suddenly, Meredith's pager beeped, so she quickly said goodbye to Danny, and hurried away.

&&&&&&&&

Meredith was sitting on a bench watching the water go by, her hand firmly wrapped around a leash attached to Bella's collar. The shaggy dog was lying at her feet on the strangely empty ferryboat.

"Hey kid."

"I'm dreaming right?"

"Alex will probably wake you up when the movie's over."

Meredith looked up and smiled. "I have something to tell you that you might not like."

"I know. It's okay. You're gonna be fine."

"I didn't have much of a teacher."

"I'd say Jillian and your grandma did a good job."

"You would've been their grandpa, you know that right?"

"I would've done the best job at spoiling them that I could."

Meredith could feel tears roll down her cheek.

"Hey now, what did I always say? When you find yourself flat on your face, you gotta pick yourself up and get back in the race."

"I love that song."

"I know."

"I miss you."

"I'm always here whether or not you can feel it."

Meredith jerked awake. The music was just starting on the television as the credits rolled past.

"You okay," Alex asked from the other end of the couch. "You missed half the movie."

"Tired." She sat up. "Did I say anything in my sleep?"

"Yeah and I think we should talk about it."

"You do," Meredith raised an eyebrow.

"Yeah. Mer, I love you but only as a friend and if you're having these dreams about me then it's going to-ow!"

Meredith drew back her foot and hmphed. "Serves you right. Just be glad I didn't aim higher."

"Fine. No, you weren't talking in your sleep. Are you okay?"

"I had the weirdest dream. I'll be right back," she said getting off the couch and going upstairs. She went into her room and stopped at her dresser. The still wrapped present was there next to her jewelry box. She picked it carefully and sat down on the bed with it. She unwrapped it slowly and the opened the box. She smiled as she pulled out her present.

"Mer, can I come in?"

"Yeah, Alex."

Alex sat down on the bed with her. "That's cool. What hotel is it?"

"It's the Desert Inn. It's the first place Sinatra ever played in Vegas. Ed probably got it at that antique show at the Montecito last year."

"It plays something."

"What?"

"It winds up."

Meredith turned it so she could see the knob. She turned it and smiled when the tune started up. "That's Life."

"Good song."

"It's my favorite." Meredith smiled and looked at Alex. "I'm keeping it."

"Good. It's a good present."

"I mean the baby. I'm keeping the baby."

"Good. What made you decide?"

"Just a reminder that I had some good teachers when it comes to being a mother," Meredith smiled. "Hey."

"Hmm?"

"Be its godfather," she asked.

"You sure?"

"Yeah. Danny's gonna be its uncle anyway and as much as I love George he's not the one who's been listening to me whine the last few months. I think you'd make an excellent godfather."

"Thank you. I'd be honored."

Meredith bumped him with her shoulder and smiled.

_Many times I thought of cuttin' out but my heart won't buy it_

_But if there's nothin' shakin' come this here July_

_I'm gonna roll myself up in a big ball a-and die_


	9. Decisions and Assumptions

"Tell me the evil spawn isn't right."

Meredith looked up from tying her shoelaces at Cristina. "Hey. What's wrong?"

Cristina sat down beside her, leaning against a locker. "Alex said you're keeping the baby."

Meredith took a deep breath. "Um, yeah, I am."

Cristina looked at her like she was crazy. "Why?" she sounded puzzled.

"I…" Meredith shook her head. "I don't really know…because it's the right thing to do? Because I want this kid? Because I know I have friends who'll support me." She looked at Cristina pointedly, and said softly, "You did, too."

Cristina sighed. "Don't change the subject," she warned. "You haven't even told Derek!"

Meredith folded her arms in front of her defensively. "I will," she announced. "Soon."

Cristina gave a short laugh. "Sure," she muttered. "Whatever. I just want you to know, that whatever you do, I'm here for you."

"Thanks."

"Even though I think you're making a mistake."

Meredith looked at her tiredly. "Cristina…"

"Your career will be over! Everything you've been working for the past ten years!" Cristina exclaimed.

"I'll work it out," Meredith said, and stood up. "Now, if you'll stop being so melodramatic, how about we go home and watch a sappy movie?"

Cristina managed a tight smile. "Okay." She let Meredith help her up and they walked out of the locker room together. "So what's this I hear about Alex being the godfather of this kid?"

&&&&&&&&&&&

"Hey guys," Callie sat down at a table with Meredith and George. "Where are Alex and Cristina?"

"Alex is using the gym or so he claims. I think he's really just avoiding the She-Shepherd."

"And Cristina is studying for an operation she has later with Bailey," George finished.

"Hey Callie, did you remember to leave the keys in the mailbox?"

"Yeah. So, she's really going?"

"Her mom says it'll be better for her if she's as far away from this place and all the memories as she can be right now."

"I'll miss her."

"We all will," George said.

"Okay, happy thoughts you guys. Pink and blue thoughts."

"Pink and blue? Planning for the nursery, Meredith," Callie teased quietly.

"Very funny."

"I thought so."

"Delinda called. She's inviting us all to the wedding, so make sure you can come, Callie. Aunt Jillian, Sam, Mike, and Mary are dying to meet you."

"I wouldn't miss it for the world. Your cousin and Danny are great."

"Yeah, they are."

"Too bad Delinda got there first," George commented.

"Well, technically I met Danny first. I went out to Vegas to tell Ed about my mother and he had Danny baby-sit me all night. But Delinda did 'get there' first."

"Eww," Callie made a face.

"What?"

"It's just that you always say Danny's like a brother and since you consider Delinda a sister, my mind went somewhere weird."

"Callie, that's nasty."

"Sorry. My dirty mind pops up at the oddest moments."

"Blech."

&&&&&&&&&&

"Morning, Doctor Grey."

Meredith frowned, looking up as she heard the familiar voice. "Dr Shepherd." She noted that the surgeon looked and sounded particularly pissed that morning. "Are you okay?"

"I'm fine," Derek told her.

Meredith put the case file she was holding down. "Are you sure?" she asked, concerned.

"Yeah." Derek started to walk away, before turning around and walking back to her. "How's your friend?"

Meredith looked at him, confused. "What friend?"

"The guy from Vegas," Derek reminded her stonily. "How's he doing?"

"What are you getting at?" Meredith narrowed her eyes.

"You two seem to get along pretty well."

Meredith tried not to burst out into incredulous laughter, because the thought of Danny and herself together was just _that_ funny. "Not that it's _any_ of your business," she said, managing to keep her laughter in, and put an angry face on, "Danny's engaged to my cousin. He's like a brother to me."

"Brother," Derek said with an hmph. "You two are pretty close."

Meredith rolled her eyes. "Danny's a Marine. He could kill you with one hand if he wanted to. If _I_ wanted him to," she frowned. "And right now, I wouldn't mind, you've been a jerk lately."

"A jerk?"

"Why do you care who I'm supposedly sleeping with anyway?" Meredith asked angrily. "I guess you probably think Alex and I are together and I don't even know why you're caring!"

"Well, now that you mention it," Derek retorted, "You and Alex have been spending some time together."

"Have you been stalking me?"

"Meredith, please, the whole hospital has noticed who you've been walking around with lately, and you can't blame them for thinking that, can you?" Derek asked.

Meredith shook her head. "Because I'm all about sleeping with inappropriate men, right?" she said. "Well, I slept with you, which means you're inappropriate. So stay away from me." She fixed him with an icy glare, and then left him standing by the charts.

&&&&&&&&&&&

"He thought I was sleeping with Danny," Meredith said from her gurney where she was lying on her back while Cristina lay on her stomach on the one next to it and Alex sat on the floor in the middle of them. George was getting snacks.

"He's an idiot," Cristina said. "And he's jealous."

"He's a jealous idiot."

"Oh I haven't told you the best part."

"What," George gave Meredith chips, Alex pretzels, and Cristina a soda before claiming his own gurney on the other side of the hall.

"He also thinks I'm sleeping with Alex and I don't mean the kind of sleeping together that he and I do now. He thinks we do the kind of sleeping together that involves rocking the bed and keeping George and Callie up all night."

"I think you should've let Ed and Danny kill him," Cristina said. "Ed could've made it look like an accident."

Meredith smiled, "Yeah he could've."

"Casey still can," Alex said.

Meredith giggled. "I should let Delinda get a hold of him. She used to date a karate master."

Cristina's beeper went off, "That's Callie. I'm on her service today. See you guys later." She departed.

George's beeper went off a few moments later. "Burke. See you guys later."

"You okay," Alex asked once they were alone.

"I'm having his kid Alex and I can't even manage to have a civil conversation with him."

"What do you think he's going to say?"

"When I finally tell him? I think he's going to deny we ever had sex at the prom."

"Mer, I'm not the guy's biggest fan but he loves you. He wouldn't be acting like this if he didn't."

"Yeah, well you were in love with Izzy and you never accused her of sleeping with someone else."

"No, I had that angle covered all by myself."

"Right. Sorry."

"It's cool. Hey Mer?"

"Yeah?"

"If we had gotten to each other before Iz and Shepherd got to us what do you think would've happened?"

"Seriously?"

"Seriously."

"I think we would've broken furniture."

"Cool."

&&&&&&&&&&

"We won!"

Callie and Meredith high-fived as Alex and George rolled their eyes.

"We let you win, you know," Alex muttered, "Out of the goodness of our hearts. Because you looked sad."

George gave Alex a look, and then turned to the girls. "It's true, we let you win…I mean, as if we'd lose at pool…"

Callie laughed. "Girls are better than boys, get used to it."

"You wish," Alex said, "But whatever. Let's go get a drink."

The four moved over to the bar, where Cristina had been sitting with Burke, telling him about the day's happenings between Derek and Meredith.

"He, like, practically called her a whore again," Cristina finished angrily as she saw the others walk towards them. "Seriously. What a jerk."

"Hey," Meredith said, sitting next to her friend. "What's going on?"

Cristina shrugged. "Nothing much. Joe's is busy tonight, isn't it?" she commented. "I mean, more than usual."

The group of six spent some time at the bar before Callie, Meredith, Alex and George decided to go see whether girls or boys were better at darts.

They wandered off with George saying, "We're going to kick your ass," and Alex correcting him with, "Asses. Kick their asses."

Cristina rolled her eyes at Burke. "What were we saying?"

"You were talking about how much of a jerk Shepherd is," the attending said with a small smile.

"Oh yeah," Cristina agreed. "And, so, I mean he's the one who chose his skanky wife and now he just expects her to stay away from any other guys."

As Cristina finished, she didn't notice Burke motioning behind her with his eyes.

"Anyone I know?"

Cristina turned around. "Evening, Shepherd," she muttered, and glared at Burke, who gave a slight shrug.

"What's going on?" Derek asked. "You don't look happy."

"Well you know what?" Cristina said, "I'm not, because you're here. Standing next to me."

Shepherd and Burke exchanged a glance.

"Just, you know what?" Cristina asked. "Stay away from me. And Meredith."

She took one last look at the brain surgeon before walking off to join the others at the darts.


	10. Eavesdroppers Learn Interesting Things

"Hey, they were out of ginger ale so I got some lemon lime stuff," Callie said sitting down next to Meredith in empty gallery where the intern was doing charts. "But they did have saltines."

"Thanks. I appreciate you going."

"No problem."

"It just seems like every time I turn around today, there he is watching me with the same look he gave me when he thought I was sleeping with Finn."

"Gotta say I was a little surprised you didn't. The vet was hot."

Meredith smiled, "Finn was definitely hot but unfortunately Derek got there first."

"What's with that?"

"What?"

"The getting there first thing," Callie opened her crackers.

"Oh. It's this deal Delinda, Nessa, and I made when we got into boys. We all agreed that if any one of us got to a guy first he was off limits to the other two. I made the mistake of telling Cristina and now she rags on me about it. But I feel the same way about Cristina and Izzie. It's why Alex and I will never be anything but friends."

"Izzie got there first."

"Exactly. Though Alex did like to flirt when we first met."

"Alex flirts with everybody," Callie rolled her eyes.

"That he does."

"So, any appointments you need company for?"

"I made an appointment at County for next week. You are more than welcome to come with me. In fact, I'd appreciate it since Cristina runs kinda hot and cold on the whole supportive thing."

"You nervous?"

"About the appointment? No. About being a mom? Yeah. It's harder than it would be because I can't just tell Derek that I'm pregnant and have him be happy about it. I have to worry about how this affects his marriage and then there's the fact where he might tell me that he doesn't think it's his."

"If he says that, I'll break something. I'm good at breaking things. I've seen some nasty breaks. I know exactly how to do it."

"I'll remember that. Thanks Callie."

"No problem."

&&&&&&&&&&

"I'm depressed."

Bailey frowned as she looked up from her computer. "Explain."

"I'm depressed and I'm pissed and I feel like crying," Addison told Bailey sadly as she sat down opposite the resident. "My husband is an idiot. What am I going to do?"

Bailey sighed as she saved her work. "Firstly, I'm not a shrink, and second, it would help if you told me the whole story."

Addison held her head in her hands and mumbled, "Meredith and Derek had prom sex and now she's pregnant."

Bailey looked at her. "Addison, if I find out you're making this up or something…" she trailed off, realizing how stupid what she had just said sounded.

"What am I going to do?" Addison wailed. "I left my apartment in New York to come live in a freaking trailer in the city where it _never stops_ raining for a guy who's sleeping with an intern."

"But Mark's here."

"Mark cheated on me and I left."

"So you came here and now your husband is sleeping with an intern," Bailey said.

Addison sighed. "Yeah." She leaned against the wall. "I miss New York."

Bailey looked at her sympathetically. "I can't help you, Addison. You need to talk to Derek about it."

&&&&&&&&

"Dr. Torres, do you have a moment to give me a consult," Derek asked of Callie.

Callie considered telling the attending to shove it but decided against it. Meredith didn't need her to fight her battles no matter how much the Ortho resident would dearly love to pop Derek in the mouth.

"Of course Dr. Shepherd, how can I help you?"

"My patient fell down a flight of stairs, hitting his head and knocking himself unconscious on the way, as well as fracturing his ankle. I wanted to know if the ankle was surgical before I went into the O.R."

"Where are the x-rays?"

"This way," Derek motioned.

Before they got two steps someone called out, "Derek."

Derek turned around, "Addison? What's wrong?"

"I need to- Dr. Torres. Am I interrupting?" Addison looked at Callie strangely.

"It can wait," Callie said. "Right?"

"Well-"

"Derek, we need to talk. Now."

"I'll find you in a little while, Dr. Torres."

"Alright," Callie walked away heading for the elevator. The doors opened just as she got there. Cristina was on the elevator by herself. "Hey, have you seen Meredith?"

"No, why?"

"Because I think we might have a little problem."

"Again?"

"I think Addison knows," Callie said as the doors closed behind her, sealing Cristina and Callie in the elevator.

"Knows what?"

"Knows, knows."

It took Cristina a minute. "Seriously? How?"

"Meredith and I were talking before. She must have overheard us."

"Crap."

&&&&&&&&&&&

Addison bit her lip and looked at her husband.

"I know." Funny how she could say that without anger.

"What," Derek looked at Addison. "Addie, what you are talking about?"

"You, Meredith, prom. I had my suspicions from the way you wouldn't look at her after she came out following Karev, O'Malley, and Stevens. But I didn't actually know until now that you'd slept with her. And you did."

"Addison, you're not making any sense."

"Derek, you slept with Meredith at the prom."

"Okay. Yes. I did."

Addison's eyes closed for a moment.

"Addie, it was stupid. It was a mistake. It doesn't mean anything." _Lying Derek? Good plan. I am not lying. It didn't mean anything to her so it didn't mean anything period._

"It means," Addison opened her eyes, "that you love her."

"Addie."

"Derek, I know how you feel about her. I have always known."

"It doesn't matter. I love you," Derek said quietly.

Addison wanted to cry when she heard that. Funny thing was that she had wanted to cry the first time she'd heard him say that. Only then she'd been happy to hear the words. Now they devastated her because they were good-bye.

"Derek, there's something you need to know about Meredith."

"Addison, she's made it perfectly clear that she wants nothing to-"

"She's pregnant."

"What?" A kick in the stomach couldn't have left him more breathless.

"She's pregnant and it's yours."

"No. It could be Finn's."

"She never slept with Finn."

"Yes, she did."

"Derek, girls don't lie to other girls about sleeping with a guy."

"What are you talking about?"

"I heard her talking to Callie Torres about it and Callie said that she was surprised that Meredith didn't sleep with Finn because he was hot."

"Fine. She didn't sleep with Finn. There's always Alex."

"Meredith has this little deal with her friends. She'll never touch Alex because Izzie got there first."

"She would've told me."

"Yes, because I'm sure that she's in a real hurry to tell her married ex-boyfriend that she's going to have his baby."

"Addison-"

"It's over Derek. Just go."

"It doesn't have to end like this."

"Yes, it does."

Addison didn't give him a chance to say anything else as she did what she should've done almost six months ago. She turned and walked away.

&&&&&&&&&&

"Meredith."

Meredith looked up, alarmed as she heard the urgency in her friends' voices as they rushed towards her.

"Don't freak out."

She frowned at Cristina and Callie. "You can't come in here like that and tell me not to freak out!" she exclaimed, then whispered, "Is it really bad?"

Cristina took her fellow intern by the wrist and led her and Callie into a room. "It's about Addison," Callie said as she closed the door.

"What about her?" Meredith raised an eyebrow. She knew that her friends could be pretty melodramatic if they tried.

"She, um, heard you and Callie talking about the baby earlier," Cristina said, and Callie looked at her and added, "And we're thinking that she might go tell Derek."

"Oh." Meredith took this information in, nodding calmly. "Crap."

&&&&&&&&

"She's pregnant," Derek murmured.

"What?"

"Meredith. She's pregnant. It's mine and the kicker? Addison is the one who told me."

"How'd she find out?"

"She overheard Callie and Meredith talking."

Preston looked at the other surgeon. "Well, then."

Derek sighed and then looked to his companion. "You didn't know?"

"Not for sure."

"Thanks for the warning," Derek took a swing of his beer.

"If I told you and it got back to Cristina that I told you, I'd be sleeping on the balcony."

"You don't have a couch?"

"Couch would be too tame," Preston said.

"So, what's your advice?"

"Pray and give thanks," Preston advised.

"For what?"

"Pray that Meredith doesn't skip town, she has the money to do that, and give thanks that her mother doesn't know who she is much less who you are, because she could and would have ruined your career, and be grateful that Meredith's uncle Ed is no longer with us 'cause I'm thinking if he was you wouldn't be walking around."

"Thanks for the words of wisdom."

"Anytime. See you later. Night Joe."

"Night Doc."

Derek looked up at Joe. "How are you tonight Joe?"

"Better than you Doc."

"You heard?"

"No, I knew. Meredith stopped ordering any and all forms of alcohol a few weeks back only this time there were no needles with her."

"Right. So, any advice?"

"Watch out for Pete and Sal."

"Who are they?"

"Her guards."

&&&&&&&&&&&

"So how do you think Addison found out?"

"I bet she was spying on Callie and Mer," Alex said, grabbing some popcorn from the bowl that George was passing to him.

Cristina rolled her eyes. "Uh, I think she's got better things to do."

"She was just in the wrong place at the right time," Meredith sighed, switching the channel on the TV.

The gang was gathered at Meredith's house, and they were supposed to be watching a movie, but everyone kept talking over it.

"But why'd she tell McDreamy?" George frowned.

Callie shrugged. "Maybe she just didn't want to pretend that everything was alright with him anymore."

"Yeah," Alex agreed, and pointed out, "Remember when she had that freak out earlier this year? When Meredith started going out with Finn?"

Cristina laughed. "That was funny."

"Don't be so sadistic."

"So I guess she can't really kill you," George said, glancing at Meredith, who was sitting on the floor, leaning on the couch. "Addison, I mean. If she wanted to break up with Derek anyway…"

Meredith sighed. "Both of them are screwed up." She turned back to the TV. "Let's just watch the movie, yeah?"


	11. The Pointy and the Pointless

Cristina finished twisting her hair back and clipped it before she slammed her locker door shut. She had just slid on her lab coat and turned around only to jump a little in surprise.

"Jeez!"

"Where's Meredith?"

"She and Alex reached eighty hours sometime this morning when they were in surgery with Callie so after they were done Bailey threw them both out. George and I are the only ones on." She pushed past the attending and headed for the door. Before she left she stopped and turned around. "Don't go to her house. You'll be thrown out by two rather large men. Have a good day Dr. Shepherd."

Addison frowned as Cristina left the locker room. Great. Now what? She sat down on the bench and looked at her wedding rings.

"Addison?"

She looked up. "Hi Mark. What are you doing here?"

"Looking for Karev. I need an intern."

"He's home. He and Meredith finished their eighty hours sometime this morning so Bailey sent them home."

"Wonder if I can have Yang," Mark mused looking out into the hall at where Cristina and George were standing with Dr. Bailey.

"I wouldn't. She's not like Karev. She wants nothing to do with plastics and would not get coffee for you," Addison said.

Mark looked at his ex-lover. "What's wrong?"

"What?"

"You've got the same look on your face the day you told me Derek left. What's wrong?"

"She's pregnant."

"Who's pregnant?"

"Meredith."

"What?"

"She and Derek had prom sex and Meredith is pregnant."

"You wanna kill him or should I?"

Addison laughed a little. "You wanna know the sad part? I'm not surprised."

Mark sat next to her. "You're sure it's Derek's?"

"Oh, yeah. It's Derek's. She never slept with the vet and she's not sleeping with Alex. I heard her and Torres talking. Girlfriends don't lie to each other about sleeping with guys. That's a guy thing."

"Right. So, what happens now?"

"I don't know. I am just so sick of pretending."

"I think we all are, Addie."

"Yeah."

&&&&&&&&&&&

"Derek. I'm glad I caught you."

Derek groaned inwardly as the Chief approached him. He wasn't really in the mood for a chat – one of his patients had decided to be a pain in the butt, Addison was pissed at him, he was pissed at Meredith, and he was still mulling over the fact that he was going to be a father.

"Hey, chief," he said, looking at his watch.

Richard walked over the bridge to Derek, and looked out the huge window at Seattle. "What's wrong?"

"Oh you know," Derek said in a joking voice, though Richard could tell he meant it, "Patients and their stupid questions." He shook his head. "And what is with the women in this hospital?"

"Let me guess," Richard said, frowning, "Meredith?"

Derek threw his hands up in the air. "I'm trying to help and she's not answering my calls!" he exclaimed. "And then, there's Addison. She's not answering my calls either."

"Anyone else?" Richard asked, slightly amused as he watched his top brain surgeon rant.

"Yes!" Derek told the chief. "Bailey!"

Richard raised an eyebrow. "What did Bailey do to you?"

"She threatened to…" Derek paused, frowning, "Cut my…"

"Oh. Oh!" Richard repeated. "I see." He glanced out the window at the dreary day outside. "What did you to make all of them so pissed off?"

"Who says_ I_ did anything?"

The chief rolled his eyes. "Does the whole thing have to do with Meredith and a certain prom night?"

Derek frowned. "Maybe…how did you know, anyway?"

Richard gave a short laugh. "I may be old, but this is still my hospital. I know everything that goes on around here, believe me. I am the eyes and ears of this place."

Derek sighed.

"Cheer up. It's not so bad. Addie will get over it, since Mark's in town, anyway," the chief told him, as his pager went off.

Derek watched him walk away. "Just great."

&&&&&&&&&&&

"Cute as he is, I don't think he could pull Rhett's famous look off, Callie," Meredith said to her roommate as the two sat in the cafeteria.

"So, McDreamy's not Rhett?"

"No. He's more the Ashley type."

"You realize that makes Addison, Scarlett."

"Yeah. McSteamy could so be Rhett," Meredith mused. "He could just look at any girl and have that 'I know what you look like without your shimmy' look on his face in a matter of seconds. For Derek that look is reserved for women he actually has seen naked."

"So, if Addison is Scarlett, that makes you Melanie," George said. "That kinda fits since I think McSteamy has a crush on you and I always thought Rhett had a crush on Melanie."

"And who does that make you?"

"Charles."

"Hey!"

Meredith and Callie giggled.

"So, does that make me India?"

"For the movie yes but if we're going by the book, you're Honey."

"What the hell are you guys talking about?"

"_Gone With the Wind_ was on last night," Alex answered Cristina.

"Oh dear God," Cristina groaned.

"So, who does that make Alex?"

"The Tarleton twins. Both of them."

"Hehe."

"I'd never do that to you Mer."

"Do what?"

"Go out with the enemy," Alex smirked.

Meredith smiled, "Thanks."

"Hey, neither would I," George protested.

"You not only went out with the enemy, you married her," Meredith teased.

"So, who does that make me," Cristina asked.

The table all stared and then George ventured, "Suellen?"

"She did have the older beau."

"Right up until Scarlett stole him away."

"And Preston does like Addison more than he likes a lot of female doctors."

"Yick. That makes me Addison's sister."

"And Izzy's. I think she'd make a good Carreen."

Meredith sighed. "Thanks you guys. I really needed a pointless conversation to take my mind off of everything."

The table smiled and then beepers started to go off.

As they all walked out of the cafeteria, Cristina turned to Meredith, "Hey, who does that make Bailey?"

&&&&&&&

"Is this seat taken?"

Alex looked up from his lunch to find Derek standing beside him with a tray full of food from the hospital canteen. "Uh, no," he said, because even though he have much rather liked to sit by himself and told the attending to shove it, he figured that wasn't really polite.

"Thanks." Derek sat down and smiled awkwardly. "So, I hear you've moved into Meredith's house."

Alex groaned inwardly, thinking that of course McDreamy wanted to talk about that. "Yeah, I have." He frowned. "Why?"

"Well, I…" Derek shrugged. "How's it going?"

"It's good." Alex picked up his sandwich and took a bite. "Is there any thing else you wanted to ask me?"

Derek sighed. "How is she?"

Alex would have told him to ask her himself, but then he remembered that the attending was out of favour with Meredith. "She's fine. She's coping."

"Huh." Derek nodded. "So, uh, that's good? Everything's good? She's good, so that's good."

Alex was trying to figure the sentence out, since the frequent use of the word "good" had left him confused for a second. "Yeah." He looked at his watch. "Now, if you'll excuse me, I need to go." He quickly got up and left the table.

&&&&&&&

"Dr. Montgomery-Shepherd?"

"Dr. O'Malley," Addison greeted the intern. "What are you doing here?"

"I'm assigned to you today. Dr. Bailey took Alex and Cristina with her to a conference downtown and Meredith is assigned to Dr. Burke."

"Oh. Right. Okay. Well, today's pretty quiet, so if you want to see if you can't get reassigned to someone else, I don't mind."

"I could use a quiet day, so if you don't mind I'll stick around."

"Okay. Hangover?"

"What? N-no. Uh, Cristina, Callie, and Meredith were on speaker phone with Meredith's cousin last night for over two hours and for some reason they had to have the conversation in the hallway."

"Is everything alright?"

"Yeah. Delinda's getting married and she wanted to consult with the girls about some things."

"Oh." Addison fiddled with her pen for a moment and then looked at George. "Who's her doctor?"

"What?"

"Meredith. Does she have a doctor yet?" Seeing George's hesitation, "Look, I know it's none of my business but I am a doctor and I just want to know that she's taking care of herself because I know she hasn't made any appointments with anyone on staff here."

George nodded and spoke, "A friend of hers from Vegas set her up with an OB/GYN on staff at UW Medical Center. She comes highly recommended."

Addison nodded. "I'm sorry for asking but I know she's not talking to Derek and I just want to know that she's not trying to punish him in any other way than silence."

"Meredith's fine, Dr. Shepherd. You know, if you don't mind, I think I'll go see if Dr. Torres has anything going on today."

"Good idea."

George walked away and Addison sighed shakily. Meredith was keeping the baby. For some reason knowing that made it easier to know that Derek would be getting the divorce papers sometime today.

Because she was done. She was done trying. She was done closing her eyes to the fact that her husband wasn't in love with her. She was just plain done.


	12. Have a Heart

"How did I let Danny talk me into this," Meredith said as she put a necklace on.

"You'd do anything for Danny and he's the same way about you. My question is, how did you talk us into this," Cristina asked.

"I really only had to convince you and Alex. Callie said yes right away and then she convinced George. You took care of Burke."

"Yeah and I was counting on him to say no. Who knew he'd actually want to go to some fundraiser?"

"It is for the American Heart Association and he _is_ a cardiologist," Callie pointed out. "Does this look okay?"

Meredith looked at her roommate, "Yeah. Great color."

"Thanks. I like that green on you."

"Thanks." Meredith checked her watch, "Where are the guys already?"

"Down in the lobby waiting for us," Cristina said. "George was with Burke today and they finished early."

"And Alex was with Bailey and she knew about this so she let him go early so he wouldn't be able to get out of it."

"Nice of her."

"He thought so. I think he offered to do her post op notes," Callie giggled.

Meredith and Cristina laughed at that. Alex was notorious for trying to get out of paperwork and the fact that he volunteered for extra work just to get out of a charity dinner was a little bit funny to them.

"So, you said Mary has the flu," Cristina said. "So, who's Casey's date?"

"I think he's bringing his sister."

"Kinda pathetic," Callie said picking up her purse as the three women left the locker room and headed for the elevator. "Guy's worth more than half the doctors in this place combined and he's taking his sister."

"It's a safety measure. He's got a girlfriend and he doesn't want to screw that up."

"If you'd met her you'd understand," Meredith added. "Mary is probably the sweetest person on the face of this earth. No guy is going to let her go without a fight."

"Danny did," Cristina reminded her.

"That doesn't really count. She broke up with him. Gave him back the ring and told them they weren't gonna work."

"And yet she still thought she had the right to be jealous when he started going out with Delinda? Nice," Callie said.

"We talk to each other way to much," Meredith pushed the down button with a smile.

"Can't really help it. I end up using your bathroom more than the hall one considering we live with Alex and George. You know, for a guy without all that much hair Alex spends entirely too much time making himself pretty in the morning."

"Kinda makes you wonder how much time a guy with a lot of hair spends making himself pretty," Cristina mused.

"Dee says Danny has a lot of hair products," Meredith grinned. "We could ask her to time him."

The three stepped into the elevator with the chief of surgery.

"Evening ladies."

"Hi Dr. Webber," they all said together.

"You all look lovely tonight."

"Thank you," Meredith said for them. "We got roped into a charity dinner."

"Well, have a good time."

"Thanks."

Richard got off on the next floor and just as the doors closed behind him Derek approached him straightening his tie with one hand and holding a chart with the other.

"Derek," Richard greeted. "Hot date?"

"No. I got a pair of tickets to the American Heart Association dinner in the divorce and it's tonight and I have nothing to do so I'm going."

"Who with?"

A familiar voice answered him, "Where's my corsage?"

"Dr. Sloan," Derek grimaced at his mentor as his fellow surgeon walked up. "He's the only who could make it on such short notice."

"It's a mercy date," Mark smiled. "Let's go honey."

"Keep it up and I'm going to tell everyone you were the guy in that A&E movie _Wedding Wars_. You'll be mobbed all night long."

"See you two tomorrow. Oh and Mark?"

"Yes sir?"

"Try not to keep him out to late. It is a school night," Richard winked.

"Yes sir. Home by ten-thirty."

&&&&&&&&&&

"This is your table."

Alex, Callie, George, Meredith, Cristina and Burke sat down at their table in the Paris Ballroom at Hotel Monaco after the waiter showed them their seats.

Even though the venue wasn't too far away from the hospital, they'd all gone in Meredith's big car together, with Alex and George up front, and had gotten lost along the way.

"Ooh, bread." Alex reached for a roll, and Cristina rolled her eyes at him. "What?" he asked defensively. "I'm hungry."

"Whatever."

Meanwhile, Mark and Derek were seated a few tables away, with some other surgeons from around the country. They were making some polite small talk when Derek heard a familiar laugh and frowned. He turned around to see George laughing at his table.

"What's so interesting over there?"

Derek glanced at Mark. "Nothing."

His former best friend didn't want to take his word for it, and peered over the brain surgeon's shoulder, and saw Meredith's table. "Oh, man." Mark shook his head and sighed. "You are way too hung up on her, and she hates you."

"Yeah, I know," Derek muttered through gritted teeth, "Everybody hates me right now. I get that, but…"

"Prom," Mark supplied. "I know."

Derek turned to him. "How do you know?" he asked, before he could stop himself, before groaning, "Addison. Right."

Mark shrugged.

Meanwhile, back at the interns table, Cristina had just spotted Casey and was waving him over.

"Hey, everyone," he smiled, and walked over to Meredith. He leaned over and whispered, "Congratulations on the baby."

Meredith smiled. "Thanks. Dee, right?"

Casey shook his head. "Nope, Danny actually. He won't shut up about the fact that his second favorite blonde is having a baby."

Callie laughed. "Seriously?"

"Seriously." Casey nodded. "I don't believe we've met. I'm Casey Manning."

"Oh, right. Casey, this is Callie Torres. She's an ortho resident at Seattle Grace."

"It's good to meet you. I've heard a lot about you."

"Same here."

"And this is Preston Burke. Your ticker ever gives you any problems he's the guy you want holding the knife," Meredith grinned.

"Thanks Grey." Preston held out his hand. "Glad to meet you. Cristina speaks highly of you."

"Danny does the same about you. I read that article you wrote for _The American Journal of Cardiology_. It was amazing."

"Thank you."

Casey nodded, "Anyway, I'd better get back to my table." He kissed Meredith's cheek once more.

They all waved goodbye, and he left.

Unfortunately, Derek had seen. "This is insane."

Mark rolled his eyes. "What?"

"Now _that_ guy is coming onto her," he exclaimed, gesturing to the owner of the Montecito.

"Whatever." Mark shook his head and took a better look at the man Derek indicated. "Whoa. You do know who that is, right?"

"Should I?"

"He's Casey Manning."

"Who?"

"Forbes top billionaires? He's worth more money than either of us will ever see." Mark shook his head, "You better hope Meredith doesn't decide she wants her own hospital, because that guy? He could make it happen."

"Shut up."

&&&&&&&&

"Ginger ale, please," Meredith said to the bartender.

"Dr. Grey."

Meredith looked up, "Dr. Sloan. How are you? I didn't know you'd be here tonight."

"I'm Derek's date. Can I get a beer," he asked of the bartender.

"You're Derek's date?"

"Long story. So, what made you come?"

"Oh, a friend of mine got tickets but he couldn't make it at the last minute so he asked me to go in his place and to bring my friends."

"Your friend wouldn't happen to be worth a couple of billion dollars, would he?"

"What? Oh you mean Casey. No, he's not the one who asked me but he is a friend. He owns the hotel where my uncle worked and where Danny, the friend who asked me to come in his place, works."

"Ah. So, you and Casey? Friends?"

"Yeah. Not really close friends but he's a good guy and when Ed died he told me if I ever needed anything all I had to do was ask."

"So, you and he aren't dating?"

"Me and Casey? Where would you-" Meredith's eyes narrowed. "Tell Derek his radar is really off."

"How so?"

"Every guy he's thought I was 'friendly' with lately has a significant other. Danny's engaged to my cousin, Casey is dating a friend of mine, and even if Alex wasn't hung up on Izzie, there still wouldn't be anything between him and me. Also, you might want to mention that he has no right to be jealous and that when Casey was whispering in my ear he was congratulating me on the baby. Have a nice night Dr. Sloan."

Meredith stalked away.

&&&&&&&&&&

"I thought you said you couldn't dance?"

Alex looked at Meredith and laughed as they waltzed around the dance floor. "What do you mean?" he asked her. "I can't. I've got to have stepped on your feet at least three times already."

"Well, it didn't hurt that much," Meredith shrugs. "You're just a little out of practice."

He nods. "If you say so." He looks at her carefully. "I saw you talking to Mark before."

Meredith's face instantly takes on a look of disgust and she rolls her eyes. "Mark told me Derek thinks Casey was coming on to me."

Alex nearly laughs as the thought is so strange. "Seriously?"

"Yeah, seriously," Meredith says darkly. "I don't where he gets off. First, it's you, and then he thinks Mark and I are together, then Danny, Casey…"

"He's worried about you."

"Or he's just being an ass."

"Okay, so he's a worried, jealous ass," Alex admits. "But he cares. Maybe you should…I don't know." He frowns. "Just cut him some slack."

Meredith sighs. "Alex, he called me a whore. And now he's doing it again. I'm not going to cut him some slack until he stops being an ass."

Alex lifted his arm and twirled his fellow intern around, then pulled her back in, saying, "Alright. But, just…think about it, okay?"

"Fine."


	13. Just Another Day

"Grey."

Meredith looked at her resident, "Yes, Dr. Bailey?"

"How are you feeling?"

"Fine, why?"

"Just wanted to make sure you wouldn't throw up if you got a shot at going into surgery."

Meredith smiled, "I think I'll be okay."

"Good. Shepherd wants you."

"Which one?"

"Neuro."

Meredith sighed, "Okay."

"No arguments?"

"Would it do me any good?"

"Probably not. Just curious as to why you're not fighting me on this."

"He's an attending who requested that a resident send one of her interns to him. I accept that I am at the bottom of the surgical food chain. I don't like it but I accept it."

"Contrary to popular opinion, I think you may be the smartest intern, Grey."

"Thanks, I think."

"Get moving," Bailey ordered. "And if Shepherd tries any cute stuff, tell him my threat still stands."

"I will do that."

Meredith watched Bailey walk off and then headed for the elevator. She smiled when the doors opened up, "Hey George."

"Hey."

Meredith stepped on and leaned against the wall, "So, how's cardio working out today?"

"Not bad. Just routine stuff so far. Where are you headed?"

"Neuro."

"Shepherd?"

"Yep."

"Willingly?"

"Sort of," Meredith frowned.

"You okay?"

"The other night, Alex said I think about cutting Derek some slack 'cause he loves me and he's jealous of the fact that I spend most of my time with guys who aren't the father of my child."

"True," George nodded. "But maybe he should stop being an ass and realize that you have a lot of people in your life that care about you and some of them happen to be men that aren't him."

Meredith smiled, "I think we're all right."

"Me too," George nodded. "But, if you want my opinion-"

"Desperately."

"Talk to him. Be calm about it and just say what you feel."

"Maybe."

"Meredith."

"Fine. I will talk to him. Jeez. Now, I'm glad I never had any brothers. You, Alex, Danny, and Mike are enough."

"Love you, too, Sis."

GAGAGAGAGAGA

"Meredith?"

Derek frowned and sat up. He was just having a nap in the on call room, because he had a surgery in a few hours and didn't see the point in heading back to his trailer.

"Hi, Derek." Meredith gave him a small, forced smile, and leaned against the closed door.

"What are you doing here?" Derek asked, confused. "You haven't been talking to me for weeks."

Meredith nodded. "I know. But I'm sorry if I was getting sick of you thinking I was getting it on with every single guy in this hospital." She paused, thinking. "And not to mention Casey."

"Yeah, well…"

Meredith cut him off. "You don't have the right to think anything about me," she told him. "Have you divorced Addison yet?"

"Meredith," Derek began. "It's not that easy."

"Well, then my life is none of your business."

"Oh yeah?" Derek asked, getting up from the bed. "But the baby's life is my business. If we keep going this way, they're going to grow up without a father."

Meredith shook her head. "No, see, that's where you're wrong. They'll have Alex, and George, and Danny and Mike. And Casey, too. So there'll be no need for you."

Derek looked at her and sighed. "Meredith, please."

"I do want you to be there, Derek," Meredith admitted. "I grew up without a father and it sucked. And I know that even though they'll have Alex and everyone it won't be the same." She shook her head. "But unless you get everything sorted out and stop acting the way you have been for the past few weeks, then I don't see how we can get this to work." She moved towards the door, and putting her hand on the knob, said, "Bye, Derek," before walking out.

GAGAGAGAGA

"Dr. Grey?"

"Yeah," Meredith looked up at Olivia and raised an eyebrow when she saw the flowers. "Whoa."

"They're for you."

"Oh." Meredith looked for a card and found one. She flipped it open and gasped, "Oh my God."

"Dr. Grey?"

"I'm okay. I'll be- I have to- yeah," Meredith made her way down the hall and walked into a closet, closing the door behind her. She took a deep breath as she sank to the floor and took a look at the card again.

_Hi Baxter,_

_Since I'm taking a walk to remember I thought white roses would be a good way to announce it. I wish you and Day could be there. I love you. I miss you._

_Redgrave_

Meredith took her cell phone out of her back pocket and dialed Delinda's.

"Mere?"

"Hey."

"I was just about to call you. I just got-"

"White roses? Yeah me too."

"I can't believe it."

"That she's beating us both to the post? Yeah me neither," Meredith smiled.

"Very funny. Do you think she knows?"

"About Ed? Maybe. I don't know." Meredith sighed. "I miss her."

"Me too."

"Hey, do you think maybe you could-"

"Are you working this weekend? I could fly up for the day."

"I'd love that."

"Good. Oh, hey Danny has another girl's name to suggest."

"I'm afraid to ask."

"Actually this one's not bad. Meria. It means rebel in African."

"I'll tell Callie to add it to the maybe list."

"I thought she had the no way in hell list."

"No Cristina has that list, which is where Mike's idea of Idoberga went."

"I'll see you on Saturday."

"Okay. Love you."

"Love you, too."

&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"This is a nice place."

Alex nodded as Danny looked around the Emerald City Bar.

"It's close to the hospital," George explained, "So we spend a lot of our time here."

"A lot?" Danny repeated. "Seriously?"

"A lot," Alex confirmed with a sigh as they headed towards the dart board. "A lot of crap has happened here."

"Hah," George muttered, and added, "That's true. Remember the time that nurse spilled a drink on Cristina?"

Alex laughed, grabbing a dart. "Yeah. That was so funny. I'm going to remind her of that every year."

Danny smiled. "Wish I'd been there. Cristina got someone that pissed at her?"

"Believe it."

Danny laughed, and then looked around the bar. "Oh!" he said, seeing a familiar face. "There's Preston Burke. Mind if I go say hello?"

Alex frowned. "You've met him?"

"Yeah, there was a conference at the Montecito once and he went," Danny explained, and headed off to see the heart surgeon.

"Hey, Preston."

Burke looked up from the conversation he was having with Derek as he heard his name and smiled. "Well, well. Danny McCoy. What are you doing here?"

"Visiting family," Danny replied, and shook the surgeon's hand. "Plus, I love the rain."

Burke laughed, and it was then that Danny noticed the man sitting next to him.

"Hi. I'm Derek Shepherd," Derek said, holding out his hand.

Danny was about to shake it when a thought registered, and he frowned. "Wait," he said, knowing he'd heard the name before. "Derek Shepherd?"

Derek nodded.

"So, you're the guy that hurt my little sister?"

The neuro surgeon was confused for a second before he remembered Meredith telling him that a man called Danny something or rather was like her brother. "You mean Meredith?"

"Yeah," Danny nodded, "I mean Meredith. You're an ass, you know that?"

"Did she tell you she's been ignoring me for the past few weeks while I've been trying to make it up to her," Derek asked, standing up so he was nearly eye to eye with the Montecito's head of security.

"Man, you thought she was with your buddy Mark, Alex, and," Derek shook his head, confused, "_Casey_, too. That's just wrong. What the hell is wrong with you?"

"What the hell is wrong with me," Derek repeated, and Danny nodded.

"Yeah. You led Mer on while you were still married," he exclaimed.

"Don't you bring Addison into this," Derek shouted.

They were both so wrapped up in the shouting match that they didn't hear Joe shouting at them to stop disrupting his bar.

Danny shrugged. "Fine," he turned around and started to walk away when suddenly he headed back and threw a punch at Derek.

"Ow," Derek held a hand to his now bleeding nose and then glared at Danny. He then punched him back.

They were soon in a brawl on the floor, with Alex, George and Burke all trying to pry them apart.

"Stop it," George was shouting, while Alex had his hands on Danny's shoulder, trying to bring him up from the dirty floor, and Burke doing the same with Derek.

Finally, Joe shouted, threatening, "If you guys don't stop, I'm calling the girls."

Danny looked up at the man briefly, but for just one second too long, when Derek punched him and he fell back.

&&&&&&&&&&&&&

"What the hell is going on here?"

Meredith, Cristina, Callie and Delinda had just stormed into the Emerald City Bar to find Derek and Danny standing five feet away from each other, Derek being held back by Joe and Burke, and Danny by George and Alex.

"He was being an ass," Danny informed Meredith as she came to inspect his face, which had blood trickling down from his nose and his bottom lip.

"Hey, you're the one who started it," Derek shot back.

Danny was about to open his mouth to retort, when Meredith saw and shouted, "Guys!"

They looked at her.

"I don't care who the hell started it," Meredith said calmly, "I just want you to stop it. Okay?"

"Fine," Danny muttered.

Meredith looked over at Derek expectantly, and he said, "Truce?"

Danny nodded.

"So can we let go now?" Alex asked.

Meredith laughed, and Danny shrugged free of the two interns, and Derek did the same.

Meredith walked over to Danny and held out her hand. "Come on, Danny, let's go home."


	14. Bruises and Money Honey

"What the hell happened to you?"

"I don't want to talk about it."

"Mugged?"

"I _don't_ want to talk about it."

"Good morning Dr. Sloan," George said, walking up. "Dr. Bailey said I'm assigned to you today."

"O'Malley, right?"

"Right."

"What happened to your forehead," Mark looked at the bruise on George's forehead.

"I got elbowed last night."

"Torres?"

"No! Uh, him," George nodded to Derek who was doing a remarkable impression of Houdini as he tried to disappear.

"Derek, I thought I was the only one who beat up on interns."

"He attacked a friend at Joe's and Alex and I were trying to get them apart."

"_I_ did not attack anybody! That overgrown boy scout attacked me!"

"I wouldn't let Mere hear you call him that."

"I am definitely missing something," Mark nodded. "C'mon O'Malley, coffee's on me but don't tell Karev."

"Okay."

"Unbelievable."

"Derek, I just heard something I cannot believe. You got into a bar fight with an ex-Marine last night?"

"Addison, not now," Derek groaned and walked away.

GAGAGAGAGAGA

"They got into a fight." Meredith repeated to herself as she shoved a handful of popcorn into her mouth. She then looked at Callie and Cristina, who were sitting on the couch next to her, and passed the bowl to them. "They got into a fight."

Cristina shrugged, taking some popcorn and passing the bowl on to the surgeon. "You had two guys fighting over you, you should be happy."

"Two _hot_ guys fighting over you," Callie corrected, and Meredith wrinkled her nose.

"Derek, maybe, but Danny?" she asked. "I don't think so. He's like my brother. And he's taken by Dee, anyway. She got to him first."

"I don't think I'd be able to live with that rule if I lived over in Vegas," Callie said thoughtfully. "You know, with Casey and Mike and Danny there…"

"Stop it!" Meredith exclaimed, laughing as she threw some popcorn past Cristina at Callie.

"Well, it's true," Callie retorted, pushing her hair back from her face. "But back to Danny and Derek. I mean, they've got issues."

"Meredith," Cristina said, looking at her friend, "stop being an issue. They cause bar fights and nobody likes issues. Especially Joe."

Meredith giggled, remembering the angry Joe from the bar earlier, watching at the marine and the neuro surgeon battled it out in front of him. "Who do you think got the blackest eye?"

"Derek," Callie stated. "Danny was a marine; he could have killed the guy if he wanted to."

"He probably did want to," Cristina said, grabbing some popcorn from the bowl which had made its way back to Meredith. "But then he knew that Meredith would probably kill _him_ after."

"And then Dee would kill me," Meredith sighed. "It's a vicious cycle."

GAGAGAGA

"Nice eye," Miranda observed as she stood next to the attending.

"I am still your boss and as such I am invoking a rule. You cannot mention my eye to me."

"Fine." Miranda peered around him to see Alex grinning at a chart. "Karev?"

"Yes, Dr. Bailey?"

"How'd Shepherd get the black eye?"

"He got into a bar fight with Mere's big brother."

"How is Danny?"

"Bruised. Dr. Shepherd gave him a black eye too."

"Really?" Miranda looked at Derek, "And is Dr. Grey still speaking to you?"

Derek glared at the shorter woman in response.

"I'll take that as a no. You should try ice for the eye. Don't want to scare the patients," Miranda said. "Oh, and I need you to sign this."

"What is it?"

"A letter of support for a free clinic that I'm going to open."

"You're opening a free clinic?"

"Yes."

"Don't you need financing?"

"I'll get it. I just need the department heads support first. Now, sign Dr. Shepherd."

Derek signed and handed it back. "Good luck Dr. Bailey."

"Thank you. Feel like making a donation?"

"I'll let you know." Derek walked away.

"Dr. Bailey?"

"What Karev?"

"Why don't you have some kind of fundraiser?"

"A fundraiser?"

"Yeah. They do it all the time for diseases. Why can't you do it for a free clinic? Like that ball that hospital in New York holds every year for AIDS research," Alex said. "People always need a good tax write off."

"What would you know about a tax write-off?"

"I've met a lot of whales in Vegas. All they talk about is their money and how to keep the government from taking too much of it."

"I'll remember that. Thanks Alex."

"No problem."

GAGAGAGAGA

"A free clinic? Really?"

"Yeah. She's getting everyone's okay and then she's gotta get the financing in place before she can open. I told her to have a fundraiser. People need tax write offs and good publicity," Alex said as he dug into his burger.

Meredith got a thoughtful look on her face.

"What are you thinking?"

"I think we should give Dr. Bailey a head start."

"How?"

"Danny owes me one and I'm sure Sam owes him one. I'm willing to bet that at least one of her clients is looking for a good tax write-off."

"Go for it Mere."

Meredith dug out her cell phone and dialed Danny.

"Hello?"

"Danny? It's Meredith."

"Hey, you're talking to me again?"

"That depends. Does Sam owe you any favors?"

"One or two, why?"

"Collect."

"How?"

"You remember Miranda Bailey?"

"Sure."

"She wants to open a free clinic. She's got the support, she just needs financial backing. Get Sam to talk to some of her clients. See who needs a good tax write off."

"Alright. I'll also talk to the staff. Maybe we can put together a donation."

"Thanks Danny."

"And if I do all this, am I forgiven?"

"Hmm, I don't know."

"Meredith," Danny whined.

"You are forgiven, stop whining. Geez," Meredith rolled her eyes.

"Thank you. Talk to you later."

"Bye," Meredith hung up and looked across the table. "Danny's in."

"Cool."

GAGAGAGA

"Dr. Grey? Phone for you," Debbie handed over the phone.

"Hello?"

"Meredith, it's Casey."

"Hey. How are you?"

"I'm fine. I talked to Danny and he told me what your boss wants to do."

"Okay."

"I messengered over a check. It should be there soon."

"Oh Casey, you didn't have to do that."

"My pleasure. Tell your boss she can count on me if she needs more."

"I will. Thank you."

"Bye."

"Bye." Meredith handed the phone back and headed for the lobby. She went to reception. "I'm Meredith Grey. Has something been delivered for me?"

"Good timing. I was just about to page you," the woman handed over an envelope.

"Thanks." Meredith went over to a couch and opened the envelope.

_Meredith,_

_Hope Dr. Bailey can use this. See you soon._

_Casey_

"Grey, what are you doing down here," Miranda asked when she saw the intern. "You are feeling okay, right?"

"Just got something sent to me. It's actually for you," Meredith handed over the envelope.

"What?" Miranda opened the envelope. "This is for four million dollars."

"Yep. It's for the free clinic. He says you can count on him if you need more."

"Who does?"

"Casey Manning."

"You know Casey Manning?"

"He owns the Montecito. I didn't actually ask him. I asked Danny to see if Sam could get some of her whales to contribute. So, there's probably more coming if Sam come through."

"Whether or not she does, this is a good start. Thank you Meredith. How would I get in touch with Casey?"

"Just call the Montecito and tell them who you are. I'm sure you'll be put through."

"Alright. Now," Miranda put the check into her folder, "get back to work."

"Yes, Dr. Bailey."

GAGAGAGAGA

"So, are you going to hire anyone to come and do something?" Meredith asked Bailey excitedly as the interns followed the resident down the hallway.

"Give out money to get money?" Bailey said, shaking her head. "No way."

Cristina frowned. "Then what's the point?"

Bailey stopped and turned around to face the gang. "You know what interns are great for?" she asked, and they looked at her.

"What?" Meredith took a step back and stood behind Cristina. She had a feeling something was coming and that she wasn't going to like it.

"Interns are great because you can make them do a lot of stuff." Bailey grinned. "Even stuff they don't want to do."

Alex frowned. "Are you thinking what I'm thinking?" he asked, nudging George.

"You can't be serious," Cristina exclaimed. "You want us to sing?"

Bailey nodded. "Yep." She then titled her head to the side, thinking. "Except for Grey."

Meredith poked her head out from behind Cristina and grinned in relief. "Really?" she asked, and then paused, narrowing her eyes. "Why?" There was always a catch.

"You came up with a lot of money, so you're off the hook," Bailey replied, then looked at the other three. "Now, I was thinking that you could do a kind of singing and dance routine, because if you were thinking of doing some kind of song that you kids seem to like now which have all those drums and guitars and noise, then you'll have no surgeries for a month."

"This is slave labor," George whined as Bailey started to walk down the corridor. Cristina nodded her agreement.

"Have I ever made you fetch me coffee?" Bailey snapped, and Alex shook his head. "Then consider this a years worth of coffee."

Meredith waited till Bailey was a few steps in front of them before whispering, "Sucked in."

Cristina gave her a glare. "Shut up."


	15. Baby Talk

"Hello?"

"I can't believe you didn't tell me."

Meredith opened her eyes and groaned, "Delinda?"

"Yes."

"What time is it?"

"Six a.m."

"Yes it's six there, meaning it's five here, Delinda. Five in the freaking morning on a day I don't have to go to work," Meredith said.

"Okay, I'm sorry but I cannot believe you didn't tell me."

"Tell you what?"

"Tell me that you were going to get a sonogram and that you were going to find out the sex of the baby."

"Who-" Meredith's eyes narrowed. "Danny tell you that?"

"Yes."

"And George," Meredith flipped back her covers and got out of bed, "told him."

"Right."

Meredith shook her head and stalked down the hall to George's room. She opened the door without knocking, quickly putting the hand not holding her phone over her eyes as it swung open, "Hi guys. Sorry to wake you."

"It's cool. I was already up," Callie's voice said. "You want breakfast?"

Meredith took her hand away from her eyes and nodded, "Yes, please."

"Who's on the phone?"

"It's Delinda."

"Hi Delinda," Callie said as she passed Meredith on her way downstairs.

"She says hi," Meredith called after her. "George, have you had any recent conversations with Danny?"

The other doctor sighed and propped himself up in bed, "Uh, maybe."

"Maybe?"

"He called the other night and I was bored so I kept him on the line for a while and it slipped out."

"Do you have any idea how mad I am at you right now?"

"Scale of one to ten?"

"On the verge of telling Callie where you hid her birthday present," Meredith said. "I _told_ you I wanted to surprise everyone the next time I called there."

"I'm sorry."

Meredith raised an eyebrow.

"I'm _really_ sorry."

Meredith sighed. "You suck." She turned around and walked back out of the room. "I'm back," she said into the phone.

"So, I can fly up and be with you if you want."

"No, that's okay. Believe it or not, Alex is going with me."

"Alex?"

"Yeah. Callie's got a surgery, Cristina has plans with Burke, and George looked queasy when I brought it up so Alex volunteered."

"That was nice of him."

"I thought so," Meredith smiled. "I'll call you later to tell you the results okay. Make sure you're at your mom's so I can tell you together."

"I will. Promise. Love you."

"Love you, too," Meredith smiled and hung up.

GAGAGAGAGA

"I can't take this anymore."

Burke looked up from his morning newspaper at the melodramatic statement and set his coffee down on the table. "Excuse me?"

Derek sat himself down in the opposite chair wearily. "Everybody's mad at me."

Burke just looked at him, puzzled.

Derek sighed. "Meredith won't talk to me about the baby or _anything_, Addison's either giving me death stares or pretending like everything's fine, and Bailey threatened to cut off a part of my anatomy."

"That's too bad."

"Is that all you have to say about the situation?" Derek asked incredulously, "_'That's too bad'_?"

Burke shrugged. "I could say it's your own fault," he said, "But I decided to go for the nice option."

Derek rolled his eyes and slapped his hand on the table. "I'm sick of it," he said, "And you know what?"

Burke sighed. "What?"

"Addison sent me the divorce papers."

Burke let out a low whistle. "So it's really over?"

"Eleven years down the drain," Derek agreed, a touch of sadness in his voice. "But there's Meredith now."

"Who won't talk to you," Burke reminded him.

Derek groaned. "Plus, it's like she's given her friends the message to give me all these dirty looks every time they see me just to make me feel worse than I already do."

Burke couldn't help giving a small laugh. He'd seen the way Cristina looked at Shepherd every time she passed him. It was like she was looking at an annoying insect on her arm that she couldn't wait to flick off.

"Maybe you need a holiday," Burke suggested after the neuro surgeon gave him a glare.

Derek shook his head. "Nah. I ran away last time things went wrong and they just turned out worse." He stood up. "I need to straighten everything out."

"How?"

"I'm still working on that."

GAGAGAGAGA

"I can't believe it," Meredith smiled as she and Alex got on the elevator.

"Hey, if anyone can do it, you can."

"I'm not scared exactly. I'm just amazed. Can you believe it?"

"Well, no, not really."

Meredith swatted at her friend.

"Sorry," he smiled.

Meredith leaned back against the wall of the elevator and looked down at her feet.

"Mere?"

"Dylan. That's what his name is going to be. It means sea in Welsh."

"Good name. What about his middle name?"

"Edward."

"I thought you were gonna let Delinda have that one."

"I'm gonna let her have it as a first name. But I'm taking it for a middle name."

"So," Alex asked with a smile, "what about Dylan's sister?"

"I've been debating about this for a while now. I think I'm gonna go with Melinda as a first name."

"A combination of Delinda and Meredith, huh? Nice. What about her middle name?"

"Criselle."

"Is that a real name?"

"Yeah. I think so anyway. I went to school with this guy named Christopher. He and all his siblings' names started with Chris and I always liked his sister's name. That and it's a good combination of Callie, Izzie, and Cristina."

"Good point. Melinda Criselle and Dylan Edward."

"Good names," Meredith smiled. "I just have to make up my mind about a last name."

"Grey? Shepherd? Grey-Shepherd?"

"That's not a bad idea."

"So, who do you want to tell first?"

Meredith closed her eyes and looked at her feet.

"Meredith?"

She looked up, "Derek."

GAGAGAGAGAGA

"Dee!"

"Meredith. Hey!" Delinda crossed the Montecito floor with her shoulder pressing her mobile to her ear as she struggled to hold the two large boxes in her arms.

Meredith frowned. "I hear noise. Is this a bad time?"

"It's the Montecito, there's always noise," Delinda rolled her eyes. "It's a good time. Talk."

"I think you should sit down."

Delinda laughed. "Meredith, it's like happy hour over here. There's nowhere to sit."

"Dee."

"Okay, fine." Delinda gave an exaggerated sigh, and spotted Danny on the other side of the floor. Balancing the boxes on her knee, she waved him over.

Danny walked over, and raised an eyebrow.

"It's Meredith," Delinda told him, and shoved the boxes into his hands. "Take them down to Mystique," she instructed, them quickly walked off, calling over her shoulder, "Thanks!"

"That was Danny," Delinda explained to her cousin, then went into the women's toilets. "Okay. I'm sitting down and I'm alone," she said, enclosing herself in a cubicle.

"Okay." Meredith nodded. "Um, I just wanted to tell you that, I'm having twins."

There was silence for a few seconds before Delinda muttered, "Shut. Up," into the phone.

"Dee."

"Seriously?"

"Seriously," Meredith confirmed.

"Oh my god!" Delinda shouted excitedly. "Wow! I'm going to have two nieces. Or nephews. At the same time! This is great!"

"I'm glad you're happy about it," Meredith grinned.

Delinda rolled her eyes. "Why would I not be?"

"Oh and it's one of each."

"God, this is excellent! Wait till I tell mom."

"She'll be happy, right?"

"Are you kidding? Two kids to spoil instead of one?" Delinda asked. "She'll be over the freaking moon. You'll be here every second weekend with those two if mom has her way, I'm telling you now."

"I know." Meredith laughed. "Hey, can you get Aunt Jillian on the phone now?"

"Um, yeah." Delinda nodded, stepping out of her cubicle. "She's up with Mike in surveillance checking something out. I'll go up now." She ran to the elevator and pressed the button frantically. "I can't wait to see her face," Delinda said.

Meredith laughed, asking, "You think it'll be as hilarious as the time when we were sixteen and we lied and told her we pierced our tongues?"

"More."

Delinda walked out of the elevator as the doors opened and went into the surveillance room. "Hey, Mike. Where's my mom?"

"Right over there." Mike pointed to the office to the left.

"Is that Mike?" Meredith asked. "Tell him hi for me."

"Mere says hi," Delinda said as she walked over to the door. "She's having twins."

Mike nodded. "Oh. Okay."

Delinda closed the door to the office behind her. "Mom, Meredith's on the phone."

Jillian swung her chair around to look at her daughter. "Is she okay? Is everything alright? Is the baby okay?"

Meredith, hearing this, told Delinda, "Go on, tell her."

"It's about the baby, actually. Well, babies."

"What?" Jillian frowned.

"Mere's having twins."

Then the shrieking started, and Meredith moved the phone away from her ear.

"We're doing a happy dance for you!" Delinda shouted into her phone, as she and her mother jumped around excitedly.

Jillian grabbed the phone from Delinda and said, "I'll come down next weekend or something to see you. This is so exciting!"

"I know," Meredith laughed. "Thanks, Aunt Jill. So I'll be seeing you?"

"No way could you stop me."

GAGAGAGAGAGA

"Hey," Cristina sat down next to Meredith in the locker room. "So?"

"So, what," Meredith hid a grin.

"You know, I let it slide that you told Danny and Alex that you slept with McDreamy and that you were late before you told me. I couldn't help it that you went to the doctor's on a day when I had plans that I couldn't get out of."

"How was lunch with your mom by the way?"

"Do not change the subject. But I want to at least be told the sex of my person's baby before said baby's dad."

Meredith giggled a little. "Well, does it bother you that Alex, Delinda, Aunt Jillian, Mike, probably Danny, George, and Callie know already?"

"Yes but I'll get over it if you tell me before you tell Shepherd."

"Stop torturing her Mere," Alex said from behind Cristina.

"Alright, alright, alright, I will tell you."

"Good. Boy or girl?"

"Yes."

"Meredith, stop being obstinate and tell me what it is."

"I just did."

"What?"

"It's both."

"How can it be both? I mean you'd have to be having-" Cristina's eyes got wide. "Oh my God!"

"I know. You should have heard Delinda shrieking last night."

"And you didn't tell Shepherd?"

"Not yet."

"Dr. Grey," Olivia poked her head in. "There's a delivery for you out at the desk."

"You guys didn't do anything did you?"

"Not us, Mere."

Meredith closed her locker and went out to the desk. There was a huge floral arrangement along with two baskets of baby stuff; one in pink and one in blue.

"Nice," George commented as he and Callie walked up to Meredith, Alex, and Cristina.

"Danny or Delinda," Alex asked.

"Let's find out," Cristina said plucked the card from the flowers. She opened it up. "Dear Mere, Congratulations Baby. I promise not to mention the Marines to them until they graduate medical school. Love, Danny."

Meredith giggled and took the card from Cristina. "I can't wait until he and Dee have kids. He's gonna be a great dad."

"This is some nice stuff," Callie said. "Oh, this is adorable," she pulled out a sleeper in pink.

"Same one in blue," George pulled one out.

"Where am I gonna put this stuff?"

"You can leave it here," Olivia said. "I'm on desk today so I'll keep an eye on it."

"Thanks Olivia."

"You're welcome and congratulations."

"Thanks."

"Okay, let's get to work. What is all this," Dr. Bailey walked up to them.

"Just some presents," Meredith said putting the note in her back pocket.

"Fine. Let's go. Karev, get up to OB, Shepherd want you. O'Malley, you've got Burke. Yang, Torres. Grey, you're with me. We're on trauma today."

The other interns scattered as Meredith followed Bailey down the hall. Just as they turned down the hall Derek walked up to the nurses' station with a chart.

Olivia, who was on the phone, had her back to him and didn't notice him, "Hey Debbie, you have to return all the money from the bet to the betters….Why? Because Grey is not having a boy _or_ a girl, she's having a boy _and_ a girl."

"What," Derek couldn't stop himself from speaking and Olivia turned around to see him staring at her.

"Ah jeez," Olivia said quietly. "Dr. Shepherd, how long have you been standing there?"

"I have to go." Derek walked away.

"No more betting Debbie. It just gets everyone into trouble," Olivia said before she hung up the phone.


	16. Guess Who's Coming to Dinner?

Mark was minding his own business. He was just making some notes on a patient's chart when the door to his office opened and then slammed shut as someone walked in.

"You okay?" Mark frowned. There was a lot of swearing and hitting the walls going on and he was kind of confused.

Derek turned to him with a scowl. "I'm _fine_," he muttered.

Mark shook his head. "You're not fine." He'd known Derek for a long time and this? Yeah. It wasn't _fine_. Mark watched the neurosurgeon walk the length of the room and back again several times before saying, "For the love of God, would you just _sit_ _down_?" He pointed to the couch, and Derek rolled his eyes.

"Sorry," he muttered, sitting down. He put his arm on the arm rest and drummed his fingers on the edge.

"Seriously," Mark said. "What's wrong?"

Derek sighed. "I don't want to talk about it."

Mark raised an eyebrow. "Then what the hell are you doing in my office?" he shot back.

"Meredith's having twins." Derek cradled his head in his hands. "She didn't even tell me herself. I found out by overhearing Olivia on the phone."

"Twins?" Mark echoed. "Um, wow."

"Yeah."

Mark nodded slowly. "So, she didn't tell you?"

"Nope."

Mark crossed his arm and sighed. "Well, are you going to talk to her about it?"

"She obviously doesn't want to."

"Avoiding everything doesn't make the situation go away," Mark told him. "You've got to confront her about it. Make her see things your way."

"Should I?"

"I think it's wise."

Derek couldn't believe that he was actually taking his ex best friend's advice seriously. He hadn't even had a proper conversation with the guy in a year and yet now it was like they were best friends again trying to solve their woes like they had so many times before.

It was weird.

"Okay." Derek stood up. "I'll talk to her."

"Good." Mark nodded. "You go talk to her and tell her what's on your mind. Good luck."

Derek gave him a nod, before walking out of the room, this time closing the door softly on his way out.

GAGAGAGAGA

"Mr. Donovan, you will be pleased to know that you only sprained your knee," Meredith said holding up an X-ray before she put it into the envelope. "I had an orthopedics resident take a look and she agrees."

"Thank God. I'm already going to catch hell for ruining our dinner plans. I didn't want to hear what my wife would've said if I'd needed a cast."

"So, you're a firefighter?"

"Yes ma'am. My wife's getting a little worrisome in her old age."

Meredith laughed. Her patient couldn't be much older than thirty. "Nothing wrong with old age Mr. Donovan, just so as long as you get there."

"My wife says the same thing."

"Smart woman," Meredith smiled. "Okay, I'm going to write you a prescription for a painkiller and give you an icepack to take home. Is your wife coming to get you?"

"No. One of the guys is waiting to take me home."

"Alright. I'll be back with your discharge forms."

"Thanks Doc."

Meredith smiled and went over to the desk, "Hey Molly, can I get a set of discharge forms?"

"Sure, Dr. Grey." The nurse handed her some forms and looked over her shoulder. "Your patient's cute."

"He's also married."

"Too bad. I like firefighters."

Meredith nodded, "I'm partial to Marines myself."

"Is that what I did wrong? I didn't join the Marines."

Meredith looked behind her to see Derek staring at her and she bit her lip lightly. "Dr. Shepherd, I was going to come look for you at lunch. I wanted to talk to you about something."

"Now would be better for me."

"I'm working," Meredith reminded him.

"Dr. Grey, I'll discharge the patient," Molly said.

"Thanks Molly."

Molly made herself scarce and Meredith motioned to the ambulance bay. Derek followed her and she stood with her back to him for a few moments before she faced him.

"I wanted to tell you that I went to the doctor's yesterday."

"Yeah, I know."

"How do you know?"

"Apparently the nurses had a bet going about whether you'd have a boy or a girl and when you informed Olivia that you were having both she had to call off the bet."

"Oh."

"You told _Olivia_ before you told me?"

"I didn't exactly tell Olivia _anything_."

"Then please, tell me what exactly happened Meredith."

"Well, yesterday when I found out that I was having not one but two of your children, I called Vegas to tell Delinda and Aunt Jill, who probably told Danny and he sent me flowers and two baskets of baby things, one in pink and one in blue because he considers me his sister and that's the kind of thing he'd do for a sister. He knows I'm hardly home so he had them delivered here. That is how Olivia found out. And, not that you asked, I was planning on telling you today when I saw you."

"You should have told me the moment you found out. Hell, I should've been there when you found out Meredith."

"Do not dictate what I should or should not do when it comes to you Derek. You wanna be there? Fine. But if you plan on being in my life and the lives of our children, there are things you're going to have to accept."

"Such as?"

"I am not your girlfriend and I am not your wife. Even if I was I am allowed to be friends with anyone I want to no matter what sex they happen to be. I slept with George in a moment of pure stupidity but I have never slept with Danny, Casey, or Alex and I never slept with Finn."

"Fine-"

"I am not done."

"Okay."

"You are not exactly popular with my friends and family right now. In fact there was a period when my uncle wanted to mount your ass on his wall. He can no longer do that but if I hear one more of your theories about who I'm sleeping with Danny gets permission to do what he offered when I realized I was pregnant."

"Which was?"

"Two broken legs and no memory of how you got them."

"Got it. Anything else?"

"Yeah. Decide on a godfather for Melinda. She has a godmother and Dylan has both." That said, Meredith turned and walked back into the hospital.

GAGAGAGAGAGA

"Karev, you're with me."

Alex looked up from the apple he was concentrating on eating to find Addison waiting for him expectantly. "Oh."

She handed him a chart after he threw the rest of his apple into the bin, and he followed her down the hall. "So, who have we got today?" he asked.

The neo natal surgeon opened the door to room 334, where a woman was lying in bed, her husband sitting next to her. "Dr Karev, meet Alison and Dave Moriarty," she said, "They're expecting twins."

Alex gave them a wave, and then repeated, "Twins?" he opened the chart and leafed through the pages. "My best friend is having twins."

Addison gave a small frown, and glanced at Alex. "Meredith?" she muttered, and Alex nodded. "Boys or girls?"

"Both."

Addison sighed, and then looked up at the patient, smiling. "We'll do your surgery this afternoon." She pointed to Alex and said, "Dr Karev will assisting on the surgery, and if there's anything you want to know, then just ask either him or myself."

Alison and Dave nodded their okay, and then the attending and intern walked back out of the room.

As soon as the door shut behind them, Addison pulled on Alex's lab coat sleeve and said, "Meredith's having twins?"

"Yeah." He nodded.

She frowned. "Well, does Derek know?"

"Uh…" Alex sighed. "Not really. He only knows of one baby, not two. Meredith still needs to tell him."

"I see." Addison hugged the chart to her chest as she started to walk back to the nurses' station. "Meredith better get a move on, then."

Alex followed her. "Yeah, that's what I keep telling her."

GAGAGAGA

"Hey Mere, c'mere, you gotta see this," George said from the door of a patient's room.

"What," Meredith came to stand next to her friend and poked her head in to see an older gentleman dancing with a very familiar blonde to 'Wedding Bell Blues'. She smiled and leaned on the door frame, watching them with George. When the song ended she and George clapped.

"Thank you for the dance, young lady," the older gentleman said to his partner.

"Anytime. Happy Anniversary." She turned around and smiled, "Meredith!"

"I think Delinda's adopted. She's never had any rhythm," Meredith came forward and hugged her aunt.

Jillian laughed and hugged her niece back, "You're right about that. You look beautiful."

"Thank you. I thought you weren't getting in until tomorrow."

"Came a day early to surprise you," Jillian smiled.

"It worked."

"What is going on in here? Grey, you're not on my service, are you," Mark Sloan came into the room. "Why is there music playing?"

"It w-was Mr. Kellerman's wedding anniversary and he asked this woman-"

"Jillian Deline," Jillian introduced herself.

"Right. He asked her to dance and when they were done, Meredith said her cousin was adopted-"

"O'Malley?"

"Sir?"

"I get it."

"Good," George flushed a little.

"I think some introductions are in order," Meredith smiled. "Dr. Mark Sloan, Dr. George O'Malley, this is Jillian Deline, my aunt."

"Mrs. Deline, I've heard a lot about you. It's nice to finally meet you," George smiled.

"You too, George and call me Jillian."

"It's a pleasure to meet you, Mrs. Deline," Mark offered his hand and Jillian took it, shaking it.

"Delinda was right. He does look like that Leo fellow."

Meredith smiled.

"Excuse me," Mark said.

"Nothing. It's a pleasure."

Mark gave her a smile and then turned to George, "I think you should get to prepping the patient, Dr. O'Malley."

"Absolutely, Dr. Sloan."

"C'mon Aunt Jill, I'll take you down to the cafeteria. You can hang out there until I'm done," Meredith said.

"I can find my own way. You get back to work," Jillian smiled. "I'll see you later, okay?"

"Okay."

Jillian watched her walk away and then turned around to see Richard Webber at the desk.

"Richard?"

The man looked up and smiled after a moment.

"Jillian Deline," he approached her putting out his hands to take hers and kissing her cheek. "It's good to see you. It's been a long time."

"Yes it has. When was it I saw you last? New York, wasn't it? You were teaching and I ran into you and Adele and some of your students. One of them was a very good looking dark-haired young man who recently got my niece pregnant and the other was a striking red head. How is she by the way?"

"The red head?"

"No, Adele."

"She's good. She wants me to retire." Richard took her hand again and held it with both of his. "I want to say again how sorry I was to hear about Ed. We didn't always see eye-to-eye but he was a good man."

Jillian accepted his condolences with a smile and then took Richard's arm with her hand, "Now, there is something I'd like to talk to you about if you have the time."

"I think I can take a few moments."

"Good. I want to talk to you about Derek Shepherd. I know you've known him a long time."

"That I have, why?"

"Ed's gone, Thatcher, for all intents and purposes, quit his family a long time ago, and Ellis isn't in any position to take any action, not that I think she would, so it's up to me to make sure my girls are taken care of. Delinda's all set, Danny's over the moon for her, I don't have any say where Nessa's concerned now, but I do want to know that Meredith is alright. She needs a little taking care of, Richard. I never said anything against Ellis to Ed or Meredith but that didn't stop me from thinking that a stray cat was a better mother than Ellis was after Thatcher left."

Richard nodded.

"Now, I know that Derek was married and naturally he's going to come with baggage. Everybody does these days. But, I just want to know if you think he's good enough for Meredith."

"Now Jillian-"

"Richard I know that you and Ed had words a long time ago when you decided to stay with Adele because Ed held you responsible for breaking up Ellis' marriage to Thatcher. You did what you felt was right. No one can fault you for that and as much as he may have threatened, Ed didn't."

Richard accepted her words with a smile.

"Now, about Derek," Jillian continued. "Is he?"

Richard thought for a moment about the way Derek had looked lately and how the only time anything close to a smile appeared on the surgeon's face was when he saw Meredith and how crazy he went after Ed died and Richard wouldn't let him go to Vegas to be with Meredith.

"Yes, Jillian. He's more than good enough for her. He loves her and he wants her back. He's just not sure how to go about it."

"Well, I think the first thing is that he needs to get to know some of Meredith's family. That can start tonight. Sam's here with me and I was going to make dinner at the house for everyone. Would you tell Meredith's friend Cristina to come and to bring her boyfriend and make sure you tell Derek his presence is also requested and of course, you and Adele are welcome to come as well."

"Thank you for the invite but Adele and I are on her sister's guest list tonight. My nephew's birthday. But I will tell the others. It was good to see you again Jillian."

"You too, Richard. Tell the others seven o'clock, alright?"

"I will. Bye now."

"Bye."

Richard watched the blonde woman walk away and then turned to the nurses' station, "Debbie, do you know where Dr. Shepherd is?"

"He's in his office, sir."

"Thank you."

GAGAGAGAGAGAGA

"Promise you won't say anything?"

Nancy rolled her eyes at her brother as she fixed his collar. "What are you, seven years old?" she laughed, and then saw the pleading look on the surgeon's face. "Okay, fine," she agreed. "I'll keep my mouth shut."

"Thank you," Derek said, and pressed the doorbell. "And be nice."

"I'm always nice," Nancy told him sweetly just before the door opened.

Jillian opened the door. "Hi," she smiled. "You must be Derek."

He nodded, holding out his hand. "And you must be Meredith's aunt Jillian."

Jillian shook Derek's hand, and looked at the tall woman standing next to him. "And this is…" she glanced from Derek to Nancy, frowning slightly.

"My sister," Derek said quickly. "Nancy."

"Oh." Jillian's mouth crinkled upwards into a smile, and she pushed the door open, inviting them in. "I'm afraid you're a bit early," she said. "We're not quite finished."

Jillian led the siblings into the kitchen, where they found Meredith at the stove. "I think it's done, Jill," Meredith was muttering as she heard the footsteps, unaware that Derek was there. "I mean, it tastes like it's done but I think you should come and—" she turned around to grab the salt, and stopped when she saw that the guests had arrived. "Derek." Meredith looked at the familiar woman next to him, surprised, and _McBitchy_ nearly flew out of her mouth as she remembered the first time she and Izzie had spoken to her, but then said, "Nancy." She walked over to them. "Hi."

"Do you want some help with dinner?" Nancy asked politely, but Meredith shook her head.

"No, you guys are the guests!" she insisted. "Sit down, and I'll get you some wine."

Meredith left them and walked over to the liquor cabinet, wondering what the hell he'd brought his sister for. It was times like these Meredith wished that being pregnant meant no tequila.

Because seriously?

If she was going to survive the night, she needed a drink.

GAGAGAGAGAGAGA

"He brought his sister," Cristina said the moment the kitchen door shut behind her.

"Yeah."

"She's the one Izzie called McBitchy, right," Sam asked as she got out the plates.

"Right. I thought George was setting the table."

"He and Callie are upstairs talking in angry voices about where exactly George should forward her mail."

"What?"

"That's what I heard, so I thought I'd save Mere's dishes and just set the table myself," Sam said backing out of the kitchen with the dishes.

"CaGe fight?"

Meredith shook her head, "I don't know. They were acting weird today. I guess we'll find out something at some point. Go see what Burke wants to drink and then tell everyone that dinner's ready. Oh and send Alex up to tell George and Callie, okay?"

"Sure," Cristina said as she headed back into the living room. Jillian came in after that.

"Do you want some help sweetie?"

"I think we're good. We just need to put the potatoes out."

"Okay."

Meredith picked up the bowl of potatoes and walked into the dining room where people were taking seats.

"Hey, O'Malley and Torres say they're not eating," Alex said as he came in and sat down on the right side of Meredith. Sam was sitting to her left. When Meredith looked across the table she noticed Derek had taken the seat across from her and she faltered for a moment at the stare she encountered before she looked at Alex.

"Did you get any dirt?"

"No. They were unnaturally silent by the time I got to the door."

"Sam, did you hear anything other than the mail thing?"

"Unfortunately, no."

"Too bad, I could use the gossip edge over the nurses."

"I think it was Ellis who told me that nurses know everything," Jillian smiled from her place at one end of the table.

"Is this normal dinner conversation," Preston asked as he took a sip of his wine.

"Yes," Meredith and Alex answered in unison.

"Interesting," Nancy said taking a sip of wine. "I meant to ask, where did you get this wine? It's delicious."

"Sam brought it," Alex said taking the salad bowl from Cristina.

"Alex, don't eat that, it's got pine nuts in it."

"Thank you," he passed it on to Meredith who wrinkled her nose and passed it to Sam.

"What's your problem with the salad," Nancy asked.

"She doesn't like raspberry vinaigrette," Alex said.

"Oh. What, did you two go out or something?"

"No, he lives here," Cristina answered. "Can I get the potatoes?"

Derek passed them down to Cristina and directed a question to Meredith, "So, what's with the picture?"

"What picture?"

"Satan and His Angel," Derek said nodding to the living room.

"Oh, that's Mary's idea of a joke," Sam said. "When Mere and Alex came to Vegas for New Years there was a costume party and Delinda set them up with the costumes."

"I was the Angel of Death."

"And I was Satan."

"So, when Mary got the pictures back she did the frames as a kind of joke/gift for Mere and Alex."

"You have one too," Nancy asked.

"It's up in my room on my dresser."

"He thought I should have kept the wings."

"Would've been hard to manage in the O.R.," Preston joked.

"I agree with George, though. The black and white hair was a good look for you Mere," Sam smiled.

"Thank you Sam," Meredith smiled. "I kinda liked your look that night. Especially the bunny ears," she teased.

"Ha-ha."

"I thought Addison was Satan," Nancy looked at her brother.

"That was a long time ago, Nance," Derek said quietly.

"Besides, if Alex went to the party in that incarnation of Satan I don't think he could pull off the heels," Cristina teased.

"Or the red hair. You wouldn't look good with red hair," Meredith wrinkled her nose as she looked at Alex.

Whatever Alex would've said was interrupted by George's voice, "Callie, put that down. That's not mine. It's Meredith's and it's very expensive."

CRASH!

"Okay, it _was_ very expensive."

"You are a little, little man."

"At least I can go two hours without jumping into someone else's bed."

"We weren't together!"

"We weren't even cold yet, Callie! And then to have to find out from the guy you boned by overhearing him talking to you about it. How the hell do you think that made me feel?"

Thump, thump, thump, bang!

"Oh tell me she didn't throw him down the stairs."

"Callie's not that stupid," Meredith said. "Dr. Burke?"

"Yes."

"Please make sure Callie's not that stupid."

Preston nodded and got up. He looked down the hall and then sat back down. "Just her duffel bag."

"Good. Anyone want some more iced tea?"

"I'll take some," Sam lifted her glass.

"You guys aren't worried?"

"No, fighting is normal in this house."

"Yeah, welcome to the Grey Home for Wayward Doctors. It's thirty-two flavors and then some," Alex said.

GAGAGAGAGA

"So George is mad at Callie for sleeping with another guy?" Sam asked as she closed the dishwasher.

"They were on a break," Meredith told her. "And it wasn't just another guy. It was Mark, so that's what's really pissing George off, I think."

Sam raised an eyebrow. "Mark?" she repeated. "Mark, as in the guy that was Derek's best friend?"

"The very same." Meredith sighed. "Yep."

"And Derek and Mark still haven't gotten over the whole 'you slept with my wife' thing yet, have they," Sam asked.

Meredith shook her head. "Nope, and it's been a year now."

A smile crept onto Sam's face. "You didn't tell Derek about what Ed found out, did you?"

Meredith turned towards the brunette. "Sam," she sighed, "The guy already hates Mark. He doesn't need another reason. And I don't want to be the one to break the news to him, anyway."

"You think Addison should do it?"

"She's the one that made the mess, so she should clean it up," Meredith agreed. "Or, rather, make it worse."

"So you're just going to let Derek believe that his best friend and his wife only had a one night stand?" Sam asked.

"Maybe it's best he doesn't know it was a two month relationship," Meredith shrugged. "He's still pretty cut up about it, hasn't talked to Addison in ages. This would ensure he never spoke a word to her again."

"Huh." Sam tilted her head to the side. "Whatever you say."

Derek, who was standing near the doorway, quickly walked back to the dining room before they could see him.


	17. Unlying

"I think you should tell him," Cristina said as she, Meredith, and Alex got changed the next morning. George had already changed and was out in the hall waiting for Bailey.

"What would that accomplish other than to hurt him more than he already was?"

"I know I don't know Shepherd as well as you do but I do think he would want to know."

Meredith rolled her eyes a little and went back to tying her shoe.

"Alex, what do you think?"

"You can't ask Alex about this. His opinion would be skewed."

"What are you talking about?"

"I am your best friend, am I not?"

"You are."

"Well, that being the case, if I slept with your wife, as hurt as you would be, you'd also want pictures."

Cristina started to laugh and Alex tilted his head to one side nodding in agreement.

"See? Skewed. We need a guy whose best friend is another guy."

"That leaves George out, his best friend is still Izzie."

"Speaking of George," Cristina looked around, "I saw Callie before. She did not look very good."

"Hung over?"

"Possibly," Cristina answered as the three marched out into the hall just as Bailey arrived.

"Good morning. Assignments for today are O'Malley-T-"

"Can I work in the clinic," George asked hurriedly.

"What?"

"Can I be assigned to the clinic today?"

Bailey narrowed her eyes at him and then nodded, "Alright, go on."

"Thank you," George said before he turned around and all but ran down the hall.

"Grey, Yang, Dr. Burke wants you both. He's got two cases upstairs that need tending to. Get going."

The girls said bye to Alex and headed for the elevators.

"As for you Karev, you're in high demand. Sloan or Montgomery?"

"Montgomery. I'm not in the mood to fetch coffee all day."

"Good choice. Get going."

Alex headed up to OB while Bailey went to the desk only to be joined by Mark and Callie who looked at each other uncomfortably before turning to Miranda.

"Where's George? I thought you were going to assign him to me."

"He asked for clinic duty before I got your name out and, before you ask Dr. Sloan, Dr. Karev had a choice and he chose Montgomery which leads me to my question, what the hell did you two do to my suck-ups?"

GAGAGAGAGA

The elevator doors opened and Derek greeted the intern standing on the fourth floor as she walked in, "Meredith."

"Good morning, Derek," she smiled and pushed the button for the eighth floor, watching the silver doors slide closed as she stepped back.

"How are you?"

Meredith nodded. "I'm fine."

They stood in silence for a few seconds until Derek told her, "Thanks for dinner yesterday."

"No problem," she replied, and turned to face him. "It was uh, nice to see Nancy again."

Derek laughed. "Yeah, I bet." He paused. "You and Sam disappeared into the kitchen for a while, though. Was something wrong?"

Meredith looked back at the elevator doors and shook her head firmly. "Uh, no," she frowned. "Nothing's wrong. Everything's fine."

Derek shrugged. "It was a while." He wondered if Meredith would tell him the truth herself.

"We discovered we'd put the wrong dressing in the salad, and we were trying to fix it." Meredith looked at their reflection in the doors, studying his face.

"It was during dessert," Derek reminded her flatly.

Meredith turned to him as the doors opened. "Oh yeah," she said, walking out of the elevator backwards. "Well um, then I forget what happened. I'll see you later, then."

She gave a quick wave and hurried off down the hall, leaving Derek in the elevator.

GAGAGAGAGA

"Alright, I could do the supportive thing and listen to you tell me how much you hate Sloan and Callie right now or I could tell you about my problem which involves me knowing a secret about Sloan and Addison and thinking that Derek found out by eavesdropping on Sam and me last night. Which would you rather," Meredith asked George when she sat down across from him in the cafeteria.

"I'm not in the mood to vent. What's the secret?"

"Okay, you know why Derek's so mad at Addison and Mark, right?"

"Mark slept with his wife."

"Right. Only Derek thinks it was a one-night stand."

"And it wasn't?"

"No. It was a two month relationship."

"Oh." George made a face, "How do you know?"

"Ed. He had the overprotective thing down to a science."

"You mean he ran background checks on your boyfriends?"

"And my roommates and my fellow interns," Meredith smiled cutely. "Don't worry, you all came back clean."

"Even Alex?"

"Yeah, surprisingly. Anyway, I didn't tell Ed about Derek until about two days before Addison showed up so he didn't find out about Addison until right before I did. And then I had to concentrate on keeping Ed from killing Derek so I didn't know that he'd also found out that why Derek was in Seattle without Addison and why he hadn't mentioned that he was married."

"I thought he had marital amnesia."

"Very funny. So, when Ed died and Danny cleaned out his desk he found the file Ed had on Derek and he read it and then he told Sam, Delinda, Mary, and Mike what he read and then he told me right after he handed me the file."

"So you have a file that contains very explosive information?"

"Yep and I think Derek might know because he was just acting weird in the elevator this morning."

"How so?"

"Well, he said that Sam and I took a while in the kitchen last night not to mention he caught me in a lie."

"Mere, you shouldn't lie to him."

"Yeah I know."

"Where's the file?"

"I didn't want you guys to find it before I told you so I put it in my locker. Maybe I should just go put it on his desk or just hand it over to him."

"Maybe you should just confront him and then give him the file."

Meredith sighed. "I put myself in his place and tried to imagine how I'd feel if I ever saw Delinda or Cristina in bed with my husband. You know, Sloan said he and Addison were literally in the throes when Derek caught them? I don't think I'd ever be able to look at Dee or Cristina again if that happened."

"Yeah but Derek's starting to talk to Sloan again."

"Yeah, I know and I hate to ruin that for him because like it or not Mark is and always will be his best friend, whether or not he wants to acknowledge the fact that he exists."

"Some best friend," George muttered.

Meredith sighed. "I'm gonna take a walk. See you later."

"Bye."

Meredith left the cafeteria and headed for the elevator. Elevators were dangerous these days and the last thing she wanted was to be trapped in an elevator with Derek again but she didn't feel like walking.

"Dr. Grey."

Meredith mentally groaned. Elevators with McSteamy, or should it be McSleazy, weren't high on her list either but she put on her best smile and turned around, "Hi Dr. Sloan. How are you today?"

"Fine. How are you?"

"Great," Meredith said.

"You know, your aunt's very attractive."

"Seriously? I agree that she's gorgeous but she's also a little old for you, Mark. I can call you Mark, can't I? After all you just expressed an interest in my aunt."

"You can always call me Mark, Meredith."

Meredith shook her head a little and opened her mouth, unfortunately the words that came out weren't what she intended, "Why did you sleep with Callie if you're trying to get Addison back?" Then her mouth formed an 'O' and she squeezed her eyes shut. "You don't have to answer that if you don't want to. I can't believe I just said that."

"It's okay. It's simple really. I do stupid things. I have been since I was a kid. Back then I had Derek to bail me out."

"You guys have known each other a long time."

Mark nodded. "There is no one in this world who knows me better."

"Yeah I have that too. My cousin Delinda is also one of my best friends." Meredith got a little sad when she thought of Nessa but she pushed the thought away because her hormones were out of whack at the moment and she didn't want to start crying. "She's going to be my son's godmother," Meredith smiled.

"Picked out your godparents already?"

"Yeah. Well I had to pick one more set when I found out I was having two babies."

"So, who's his godfather?"

"Alex."

"Karev?"

"Yes."

"Hell, you should've just asked me."

"Right," but Mark's words had put an idea into Meredith's head and she knew what she was going to do. The doors opened and she got off and headed for the locker room. She pulled the file out of her locker and sat down on the bench with a piece of paper and a pen.

_Dear Derek,_

_I am giving this to you because I know you already know and I don't want to lie anymore. I think there have been enough lies in and surrounding this relationship to last us both a lifetime. You can do what you want with it. Read it, don't read it, burn it, or make it into confetti and toss it over the bridge on top of Addison when she enters the hospital one morning._

_Now that that's done, I have something else to tell you. It's not really advice just something I've learned over the years._

_Being Ellis Grey's daughter I lived most of my life in a world were mistakes were unacceptable but here's where being Ed Deline's niece comes in handy. He taught me that as good as you were there was always the chance that you were going to screw up. I've done it, you've done it, and so has Mark. But he also said that the people who love you most in the world would always give you another chance. You gave it to Addison. Give it to Mark. I know he hurt you and I can't imagine how I'd feel if Cristina or Delinda did something like that to me but I do know that as hurt as I'd be, they'd still be the first people I'd want to share good news with and I'm betting that no matter how badly you wanted to kill him he's the first person you wanted to tell when you got over the shock of my being pregnant and allowed a little bit of happiness to enter into your reaction. I know this because the first person I called to tell I was pregnant was Delinda and while you were the one I wanted to tell when I found out it was twins it was her that I called and when I go into labor she'll be the one I call on the way to the hospital because I'm kinda hoping you'll be with me already._

_One more thing and then I swear I'm done. I had another friend who grew up right along side me and Delinda. You asked me about her when you looked at a photo album at my house. Her name was Nessa. It's a long story and it doesn't have a really great ending but she can never come back which means she will never know our kids or Delinda's and I hate that because just like there are stories that only Delinda and I have about each other there were stories that only Nessa and I had about each other that I would never tell my kids but I know Nessa would have. For you, that's Mark. He may be in love with Addison, who knows? But I know he doesn't love her half as much as he loves you. You once told me that Addison was your family for eleven years of your life. Mark was there for a lot longer. Are you really going to let him go?_

_In case, I haven't been clear I'm going to sign this,_

_I love you,_

_Meredith_

Meredith folded her note in half and stuck it into the envelope. Then, before she could lose her nerve, she went up to Derek's office and put it into his mailbox.

GAGAGAGA

"I think you just shook the whole hospital," Mark said as the door to his office slammed. He looked up from his computer and frowned. "Oh. It's you," he muttered at Derek. "The hospital's used to it then."

Derek rolled his eyes and replied, "It was an accident. Seriously."

"Alright then." Mark swung his chair away from his desk and pointed to the couch across the room. "Take a seat."

"I don't want a seat."

"You say you didn't slam the door on purpose, which means you're not here for a fight," Mark explained, "which means you want something, which means you'll be here for a long time, since it'll take forever for you to get the words out of your mouth, which means you'll need to take a seat."

Derek crossed his arms, saying, "I hate you."

"Just sit down."

Derek sighed, and walked over to the red couch, sitting near the arm rest. "I uh, didn't come here for anything."

Mark didn't know whether to believe him, so he just nodded and said, "Okay."

"I just thought you should know that I know that Addison stayed with you for two months."

Mark was mentally preparing himself for shouting or a punch. "Ahhh…" he nodded slowly. "Okay. Do you want to yell?" he asked, looking at Derek.

"Nah." Derek shook his head. "I'm not really…" he paused. "I'm mad, but it was a long time ago. There's nothing I can do about it now, right?"

"Right," Mark agreed, then frowned. "So did Addison tell you?"

Derek laughed. "Nope. Actually, it was Meredith. Who found out from her uncle."

"The Casino dude?" Mark asked. "That Ed guy?"

"That's him." Derek nodded. "Yeah, apparently when he found out about me and Meredith he ran a check on me. He's uh, really protective."

Mark laughed. "Huh."

"Yeah, and I suspect he's taught that Danny guy a few things as well, judging by the last conversation I had with Danny," Derek added. "Apparently, if Ed had ever met me, I'd be lying in a hospital bed for the rest of my life."

Mark laughed at the image. "Well, that'd suck."

"Yeah."

"She must really love you."

"What do you mean?"

"You're still walking around so she wouldn't let her uncle do anything to you. That's love."

"Yeah." Derek cleared his throat. "Anyway, I just wanted to ask you something."

"Shoot."

"You know Meredith's having twins, right?"

Mark winked at his friend. "Yes I remember that conversation."

Derek rolled his eyes, and then said, "Anyway, I'd like you to be the girl's godfather."

Mark frowned. "Excuse me?"

"Her name's gonna be Melinda."

Mark didn't hear him. "Me?"

"No, your brother."

Mark looked at him. "Very funny."

Derek nodded in mock seriousness. "I thought so."

"Shut up." Mark laughed. "So, you want me to be a godfather?"

"Yep."

"I'm not very religious," Mark said.

Derek looked at the plastic surgeon incredulously. "You think I don't know that?"

"Right, of course you do."

Derek looked at him. "So, what do you say?"

Mark grinned. "Are you kidding? I say yes!"

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One shoe off and then the other.

Keys on the table.

Bag on the floor followed by her coat.

Then she shuffled over to her couch and lay down, her butt right up against the arm, legs dangling over the side, and a pillow under her head. One arm around her slowly expanding stomach, the hand of her other arm on her forehead and her eyes closed.

She heard the door open and sniffed.

Pizza with chicken and meatballs.

"Hi Alex. Did you bring root beer?"

"O'Malley's got it. Living room floor okay?"

"Yes, because I don't think I'll make it into the dining room.

"I'll get the plates and the cups," George's voice said a few moments later and Meredith finally opened her eyes and sat up.

"You okay," Alex asked.

"Yeah, I think so. I did something today that I'm not sure will turn out well but I had to do it you know?"

"What'd you do? Ask Shepherd to marry you?"

"No. But I did give him information that may make it difficult for him to work at Grace."

"What are you talking about," Alex asked as George came back in.

"I told him what Ed found out."

"You're kidding," George said.

"How'd you know?"

"I told him at lunch to take his mind off of Callie."

"Oh before I forget you guys missed Bailey yelling at Sloan and Torres."

"What do you mean?"

"Well, I was going up to OB when I realized I forgot my beeper in the locker room so I went back for it and I heard Bailey saying 'What the hell did you two do to my suck-ups?' and a few other choice phrases that had Sloan reminding her that he is technically her boss."

"I love Bailey."

"We all do, George.

"But I don't think I've ever loved her more than when the chief and I told Shepherd that Bailey was back leaving out the part where Montgomery was examining her cervix."

"Why?"

"Because he looked through the window and said that he'd never be able to get the image out of his head."

Meredith started to laugh and Alex nearly spit his soda out all over the living room.

"You know, you're evil. I didn't think you had it in you."

"I would've paid money to see that," Meredith giggled.

"At least we got you to smile," George said to his friend.

"Thanks George."

"It'll be okay Mere."

"I hope so."


	18. Not Fine

"You're not fine." George crossed his arms and looked down at Meredith.

"I agree," Alex said. "You've been looking kinda weird for the whole day."

Meredith rolled her eyes. "You try being pregnant with twins and then see how that goes for you after a shift."

Cristina gave the boys a smirk, and then turned to her friend. "Mer, seriously though."

"Seriously, I'm fine," Meredith laughed. "You need to stop worrying."

"It can't be Derek," Alex mused. "You cleared everything up with him."

"Izzie called and she's doing great," George added. "So it's not her."

"Guys!" Meredith exclaimed, rolling her eyes. They all turned to face her, so she said, "You know what? I'll see you at home."

"You don't want to go to Joe's?"

"No. I'm gonna go eat something and then head home."

"We could join you."

"I just feel like being by myself."

Cristina raised an eyebrow. "Mer—"

"It's okay. Really," Meredith replied. "I'm just going to eat dinner and then go home. I don't want you guys to worry about me."

"It's our job," Alex shrugged.

Meredith smiled as she walked to the door. "Thanks, but really. I'm fine."

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"Hey Joe, can I get a beer," Alex asked as he sat down at the bar. Cristina was still at the hospital waiting for Burke, and George was playing darts against Olivia, who it seemed still had the hots for George, because she kept flirting with him.

"Double scotch, single malt," Derek said a few minutes later as he sat down next to Alex.

"Dr. Shepherd," Alex nodded at him.

"Alex, you're living with the mother of my future children, one of her best friends, and the future godfather of my son. Given all of that, I think you can call me Derek."

"Alright. You okay with that?"

"Which part?"

"Godfather to your future son?"

Derek smiled a little, "Ah, well I guess I have to be because Meredith trusts you and I trust her so yeah, I'm okay with it." He looked around, "Speaking of Meredith, where is she?"

"Oh she said wanted to eat and then go home."

"So she's home?"

"She might still be eating. We don't know where she went."

"What?"

"She said she felt like being alone. None of us really liked the idea, but I think Meredith's gotten more stubborn since she's been pregnant." Alex looked at Derek's face and smirked, "Do us all a favor? Go find her. She probably didn't go very far."

"Yeah, I think I'll go do that. Good night Alex."

"Night Derek."

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"I don't believe it."

Mark looked up as he heard the door slam. "Addison," he said, frowning, "What's wrong?"

"It's ridiculous."

Oh.

Mark sighed and leaned back into his chair. "Maybe you should sit down."

"I don't want to sit down," Addison scowled, and crossed her arms over her chest huffily. "It's not fair."

Mark shrugged. "I didn't tell him to forgive me first, you know."

"I came back from New York for another twelve stupid months with him," Addison told him. "He should have forgiven me already."

"D'you honestly want to be his kid's godmother?" The thought made Mark laugh. "Because apparently forgiveness comes with a kid."

Addison gave him a glare and turned to go. She had placed her hand on the door handle when Mark stopped her saying, "Addie," quietly.

She turned.

"Your time will come." Mark flashed a small smile, and she stood there for a moment, then left.

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"And to drink?"

"Just some water," Meredith said handing over the menu to the waiter.

"Alright, Dr. Grey," the older man smiled.

"Thanks Lou," Meredith smiled back at him. She looked down at the tablecloth and lightly traced the pattern.

"Can I help you sir?"

"I'm with her."

Meredith looked up and saw Derek looking at her.

"Dr. Grey?"

"It's fine," she said faintly. "Uh, could you bring him a double scotch, single malt?"

"Of course," Lou nodded. "Will the gentleman be needing a menu?"

"I'm not sure," Derek said as he took the seat across from Meredith, never breaking eye contact.

"I'll be back with your drinks in a moment."

"Thanks Lou."

Silence reigned before Meredith looked down and asked, "How'd you know where I was?"

"Well, I eliminated all the places that you couldn't wear jeans to, the Chinese place on the corner, and the one place that gave Bailey's husband food poisoning last month. Then I was left with this place, Joe's, and that Tai place down the street. You weren't at Joe's and you don't eat Tai food so it was either this or takeout." Derek paused. "Alex told me you wanted to be alone. I can leave if you want."

Meredith shook her head, "No. It's okay."

"You sure?"

Meredith nodded, "It's kind of nice to have the company."

"Okay," Derek nodded and then took off his jacket, hanging it on the back of the chair. "Interesting place."

"Straight out of _The Godfather_," Meredith said, smiling.

"Now that you mention it," Derek nodded. "It's weird, I must have passed this place a hundred times and never realized it was here."

"People see what they want to see. Besides I doubt that this is the kind of place you would've taken Addison to eat at."

"And yet you eat here," Derek countered. "The waiters seem to know you."

"You mean Lou? Yeah, he's an old friend of Ed's. Ed used to bring me here when he'd come to visit."

"Is that why you're here now? Was Ed supposed to come visit this weekend?"

"No. Um, it's his birthday."

"Today?"

"Yeah. All day long my friends were asking me if I was alright and I kept saying that I was fine."

"You're not fine."

"That's what George said."

"He's right. You're not fine."

"No, I'm not and that is because every once in a while, especially today, it hits me."

"What?"

"He's really not coming back this time." Meredith looked down at the table and when she looked back at Derek, there were tears in her eyes, "And he _always_ did, you know?"

Derek carefully slid his hand across the table and picked up Meredith's, lacing their fingers together. She looked at their hands and then at him, smiling a little.

"I'd like to think that if he'd gotten to know you before Addison showed up or as just a man who had nothing to do with his niece, he'd have liked you."

"I would've liked to have known him, too," Derek told her quietly. "He raised some amazing daughters from all accounts."

Meredith nodded and then tilted her head as she looked at him, "I've been thinking about something lately and I was waiting for the right time to ask you about it."

"What is it?"

"We tried this once before and it didn't go to well but I think if we try it again it might go better."

"Meredith?"

"I think maybe we should make some rules," she said carefully.

"Rules?"

"Yes. I think I already did when I told you that you couldn't tell me who to be friends with."

"True. Does that mean it's my turn to make one?"

Meredith nodded watching as she slowly moving her thumb over Derek's in a slight circular motion.

"Okay. One time, every day, we have to tell the other something we don't know about each other."

Meredith looked at him with a raised eyebrow, "That's your rule?"

"Yeah, that's my rule."

"Okay."

"Okay," Derek nodded. "Starting now."

"Okay. You first."

"Okay. I hate the smell of cold stuffed cabbage."

"Okay," Meredith giggled. "I can hotwire a car."

"Excuse me?"

"I can hotwire a car," she used her free hand to signal the waiter. "What do you want to eat?"

"Veal marsala," Derek answered.

"Very good sir," the waiter nodded and walked away.

"So this hotwiring thing, how did that come about?"

"One of Delinda's old boyfriends taught me. He's in Riker's now. Five to ten for grand theft auto," Meredith smiled.

"Interesting. I can't wait to hear the next thing I don't know about you."

"Likewise."


	19. Getting Good

"You're happy," Burke noticed as he and Derek walked down the hallway.

"Meredith and me are good," Derek smiled, "Everything's good."

Burke laughed, taking a sip of his coffee. "So you finally figured all your problems out?"

"Well." Derek frowned. "Not all of them, like _every single one_ of our problems," he admitted. "But we're getting there."

Burke raised an eyebrow. "Getting there how?"

"We have rules," Derek replied as he walked over to the surgery board and looked over it.

"Like what?" Burke asked.

"For starters, we have to tell each other something new about ourselves every day," Derek told him.

Burke frowned, thinking. "I see. So what'd she tell you?"

"She knows how to hotwire cars."

"Huh."

Derek laughed. "You ever have any car trouble, she's your girl."

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"You're smiling," Alex observed of his friend as they stood at the nurses' desk filling out charts. "Better day?"

"Yeah," Meredith nodded. "It was Ed's birthday yesterday."

"Mer, why didn't you say anything?"

Meredith shrugged, "You guys have your problems, too. You don't need me whining about it being his birthday."

Alex got right next to her so she could hear him as he spoke quietly, "We're here Grey. We're your family and that means you get to whine to us. Besides, it was the first birthday after he died. You're allowed to get weepy and moody."

Meredith bumped him lightly and smiled, "Thanks Alex."

"You got it. So, you okay?"

"Yeah, I am. Actually I owe you a thank you. Derek found me last night and kept me from crying into my eggplant. I got the impression you sent him after me."

"Guilty. Is that the reason for the good mood?"

"A little bit. He was just really great about everything. There are times when I wish Ed could've known him before Addison showed up. I think they would've gotten along."

"Someone adores someone you love it makes it hard to hate them," Alex smiled. "That's kinda why I could never bring myself to completely hate Denny."

"I don't know if I ever told you this, so I'm telling you now. I was really proud of you the night Denny died. You did good with Izzie."

"Thanks."

"No problem." Meredith's beeper went off and she groaned. "Remind me never to go into plastics."

"You got it."

"Bye."

"Bye."

Meredith walked away and a few moments later George joined Alex at the desk.

"Hey," George said.

"Hey. You know that bakery near Yang's place?"

"The one where she got the cake for Burke's birthday?"

"Yeah. Mere liked it, right?"

"Sure. Why?"

"Because I need to pick up a cake for dessert tonight. You're on dinner duty. Anything but Chinese is acceptable and tell Yang to bring drinks," Alex said closing his chart and giving it to the nurse. "That's for Montgomery's patient in 2920."

"Okay," the nurse said.

"Alex, what's going on?"

"We're having a birthday dinner."

"Whose birthday is it?"

"Yesterday was Ed's birthday."

"Okay. How about that taco place near the ferry dock? Mere likes that right?"

"Good choice. And remind Yang that Mere can't drink tequila."

George laughed and nodded as Alex walked away.

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Derek was reading an article and eating his lunch when he heard someone step into his office and shut the door. He looked up and saw Addison standing there with her arms folded across her chest.

"Hi Addison."

"Hi Addison? Is that all you have to say to me?"

"Nice weather we're having," he said.

"You jerk. You mindless, insensitive jerk! How dare you forgive him first!"

Derek sighed. "This is about Mark and the godfather thing, right?"

"Good guess."

"Addison," Derek started.

"No! I came out here and basically begged you for another chance. I stood by while you silently obsessed about Meredith. I didn't listen to people when they said you were still in love with her and I was making a fool of myself. Then you sleep with her in an exam room down the hall from me and her boyfriend and still you act like nothing happened until I confront you about the fact that you got her pregnant and you forgive Mark first? Why?"

"Because when my father was in the hospital dying, he was there with me. When my first girlfriend cheated on me with a guy I hated, he was there to help me plan my revenge. When I got into the accident that broke Kathleen's foot in three places he was there to calm my mother down and keep me from having a meltdown. And because," Derek paused, thinking of Meredith's words, "when I calmed down and really thought about what Meredith being pregnant meant for me, he was the one I wanted to tell." He sighed and looked at Addison's face. "I'm not telling you this to hurt you but you asked and I think you and I have lied to each other enough Addie."

"You and Mark," Addison shook her head. "I always knew that some way you two would be friends again. I just thought we'd be friends first."

"I'm sorry Addison."

"Me too," she said quietly. Then she left the office.

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"Dr. Shepherd?" Alex hovered by the doorway as he waited for the neurosurgeon.

"Yes, Dr. Karev?" Derek walked over to the door.

"Dr. Matthews wants a consult on one of his patients. I just saw him and he's getting kinda impatient," Alex explained. "He says he paged you?"

Derek held up his pager. "The battery's been having a bit of fun mucking about lately. I need a new one or something, apparently."

"Oh." Alex nodded.

As they started walking down the hall, Derek asked, "So, how's Meredith?"

Alex frowned. "She's…coping pretty well, actually," he admitted. "You and her patching things up has definitely helped with everything."

Derek smiled. "Good to hear," he said, and paused for a while before saying, "D'you think she'd like to go to dinner with me tonight?" Derek caught the look on Alex's face and said uncertainly, "Or maybe it's too early?"

Alex shook his head. "No, I'm sure she'd love that, it's just that me, George and Cristina were thinking about having a kind of post-birthday party for Ed tonight."

Derek nodded. "Ah. Well then, another time, right?"

"You should come, you know," Alex said. "Mere would want you there."

"Are you sure?" Derek frowned.

"Positive."

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Derek parked his car and got out. He walked up to Meredith's door and rang the bell. Cristina opened it a few moments later.

"Oh. Hey," she greeted. "Come in. Mere? Derek's here," she said going into the living room. Derek followed her and smiled in amusement when he saw Meredith on the couch with her feet on the coffee table.

"Hey. Please excuse Cristina. We were hoping you were George with his hands too full of food to open the door," Meredith smiled tiredly. "I'd get up but Mark had three nose jobs and four tummy tucks today and I am very tired."

"I got off light," Alex said coming in, handing Derek a beer and sitting down next to Meredith. "I only had to deliver two babies at the same time."

"Excuse me," Derek raised an eyebrow and sat down in an armchair.

"C-section twins," Cristina rolled her eyes.

"Can we eat the cake first," Meredith asked Alex.

"No. We are waiting for O'Malley."

Meredith pouted.

"It's not going to work."

"I'm hungry," Meredith whined.

Alex sighed and grabbed a cell phone from the end table. He found the number he wanted and hit send.

"Where are you?" Pause. "Why? Because I'm here with Meredith, Yang, and Derek. Meredith is hungry and I'm afraid if you don't get back soon she's going to eat me."

"Deep fried," Meredith said over Alex's shoulder eliciting a smile from Derek.

"See," Alex said into the phone. "Oh, thank God." He hung up and went to the door. A few minutes later George walked in, loaded down with bags and bags of tacos, burritos, and every other kind of Mexican food that you could order.

"About time Bambi," Cristina got up and took one of the bags from George. "Dining room?"

"Yeah," Meredith nodded as she started to pull herself up. She smiled at Derek when he gave her his hand. "Thanks."

"You got it," he smiled as he followed her into the dining room.

It wasn't until later that Derek and Meredith got to talk. Alex and George had gone to sleep and Cristina had gone back to the hospital to bring Burke some food after his surgery before they headed home and they were sitting on the couch much like Meredith and Danny had done on her birthday.

"Good cake," Derek commented.

"I thought you liked it. You had two pieces."

"Says the girl who had three," Derek teased.

"Eating for three, here," Meredith defended herself with a smile. She was sitting with her back to the arm of the couch with her legs stretched out, the bottoms of her bare feet just touching Derek's leg. "I'm glad you came."

"Yeah?"

Meredith leaned her head on the couch as she nodded. "Yeah." They were quiet for a moment before she spoke again. "I like Johnny Cash."

"Really?"

"Yep. I made Alex watch Walk The Line with me five times in one week."

Derek nodded. "You talk to Mark lately?"

"All day."

"Right."

"He didn't tell me anything that didn't have to do medicine if you were wondering."

"Okay. I asked him to be Melinda's godfather."

Meredith smiled, "Good."

"Really?"

"Yeah. He's your best friend Derek and he always will be. That doesn't just go away."

"Will you tell me why Nessa can't come back?"

Meredith's eyes flicked away from him for a moment and then went back, "Some other time? I'm tired and it's late."

"I should let you get some sleep," Derek said sitting up straighter as he prepared to get up off the couch and leave for the night.

"Do you wanna stay?"

Derek looked at Meredith.

"Down here on the couch while I sleep upstairs in my room," Meredith clarified. "We're not going there yet Derek."

"Got it," Derek nodded. "And yeah, thanks. I think I will sleep down here."

"Good. Um, there are some blankets in the closet."

"I'll get them. You go to sleep."

Meredith nodded and got up, again with Derek's help. She paused at the doorway and smiled, "Goodnight Derek."

"Night Mere."


	20. Working for the Weekend

Mark Sloan frowned when the two interns he'd requested for the day walked up to him. Alex was holding the charts and Meredith had a cell phone on each ear.

"Good morning," he greeted.

"Morning," Alex said.

"Hold on," Meredith said. Then she frowned, "Both of you." She placed the phones at her side, "Good morning Dr. Sloan. Sorry about the distractions. I've tried hanging up on them but they keep calling back and if I turn off my phone and Alex's phone they'll have me paged."

"Persistent. Who are you talking to?"

"My other two personalities," Meredith smiled.

"Again? I thought we had them exorcised," Derek said as he walked up. "Tell Sam I say 'hello'," he grinned.

"How'd you know I was talking to Sam?"

"Cristina asked me if I knew any other single guys besides George and Alex."

"Ah," Meredith nodded. "Do you?"

"No. Why can't Alex take her?"

"He and George are going to see Izzie." The voices at Meredith's waist got louder and she brought the phones back to her ears. "I'm here you guys, calm down. Sam, Derek says hello. What? No, you can't 'borrow' him. Why not? Because you still haven't returned the last thing I let you borrow and that was just a tube of lip gloss. I'm not lending you the father of my children." Meredith's gaze suddenly locked onto Mark and she smiled, "But I think I can do you one better. How about I give you the godfather of my daughter for the night?"

"What? No."

"Man, you want to say yes to this. Sam's a knock-out."

"I don't want to date."

"Addison's not coming around Mark and Karev's right. Sam is a knock-out."

"What does she need a date for?"

"One of her clients is throwing some charity bash and her usual date can't leave the state he lives in."

Mark raised an eyebrow at Alex.

"He's testifying in a murder trial."

Mark frowned.

"He's a cop."

"Oh. Well," Mark frowned. "Knock-out?"

"TKO."

"Okay, you've got a deal."

"Yes," Meredith said. "Sam, it's a deal. One thing, you can't sleep with him at my house. Okay. Yeah. See you this weekend. Bye." Meredith hung up and handed Alex his phone. "Dee, pick a color for me to wear that I don't look hideous in and I'm your maid of honor, okay? Alright. Love you, too. Bye." She hung up her phone and smiled at Mark. "Thank you so much for doing this. She wanted to borrow Burke when we first started talking. That would've ended badly."

"I'm sure it would have," Mark smiled. "Ready to go?"

"Mere?"

"Yeah?"

"Let's have dinner this weekend?"

"Okay. Details later. Bye."

"Bye," Derek smiled as he watched her walk away.

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"Do I need this?" Alex held up his iPod and looked at George questioningly.

"No."

Alex frowned, thinking. "Actually, I'll take it just in case, since y'know, you'll be driving and your taste in music sucks."

George rolled his eyes and threw a sock at Alex. "Shut up."

Alex laughed, and then shut his suitcase after he shoved his iPod in. "All ready for Izzie."

George sighed. "D'you think she's okay?"

"I think she's better, yeah," Alex replied. "I don't know. What happened to Denny messed her up, but apparently that place is one of the best in the country."

"Yeah," George said quietly, and nodded.

Alex gave George a pat on the back. "Don't worry. She'll be happy to see you."

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"I can't go out with him."

Meredith looked up from her chart to see a very agitated Sam Marquez in front of her.

"What?"

"Mark. I can't go out with him."

"Why not?"

"He annoys me. I can't spend an entire evening with someone who annoys me."

"Sam, don't do this to me right now. I cannot take the time to find you someone else to take tonight."

"See, that's okay. Because I've decided that going to this thing alone is infinitely better than spending it with an oversexed jerk like Mark Sloan."

Meredith narrowed her eyes at Sam. She knew Sam a little better than they would like to admit to and there were all the stories about men and Sam that Danny had told her. Something was up. Sam was used to oversexed jerks. She wouldn't be reacting this way unless-

"Oh my God."

"What?"

"You like him."

"Excuse me? I just got finished telling you that I think he's an oversexed jerk. How do you get I like him from that?"

"Because Samantha Jane, I know you. You love jerks and the only time you ever run in the opposite direction from one is when you really like a guy."

"You're nuts."

"And you like Mark Sloan," Meredith smiled.

"I do not and I'll prove it. I'll take him to the party tonight and then I'll send him on his merry way back to his hotel room where he can pine for Addison."

"Good. That way I don't have to spend time and energy trying to get you another date. Have a good time tonight. The extra key is in the drawer on the right side of the sink," Meredith hopped down from her gurney and walked away from Sam with a smile on her face.

"Hey," Cristina joined her as she neared the elevators. "Why the hell are you so happy?"

"Sam likes Mark."

"And this is a good thing?"

"Oh yes because she's denying it like crazy."

"Really?"

"Yep."

"Hmm. So Sam likes McSteamy," Cristina smiled. "Montgomery is going to implode when she finds out."

"Only if McSteamy likes her back," Meredith pointed out.

"Okay, seriously, have you _seen_ Sam? What guy in his right mind wouldn't wanna get with that?"

"Lust is one thing. Anyone can lust after someone but liking someone enough to get to know them or to be afraid of getting to know them is different."

"Okay, seriously, this impending motherhood thing has made you all warm and fuzzy."

"And here's the man responsible," Meredith smiled at an approaching Derek. "I have the house to myself tonight."

"I wanna take you out."

"I'm off at six."

"I'll meet you in the lobby."

"Okay," Meredith smiled.

"Dr. Yang," Derek nodded at her as he left the two women alone.

"Great."

"What?"

"Now _I'm_ all warm and fuzzy. I hate that feeling."

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"You still haven't told me where we're going."

Derek glanced over at Meredith sitting next to him and shook his head. "And I'm not going to. It's a surprise."

"Just say to take me to dinner at someplace where I hate the food?" Meredith asked. "Or, worse still, I'm allergic to. Or can't stand because of the twins?"

"Relax." Derek rolled his eyes. "I already asked Alex about what you can and can't eat these days. We're all set."

Meredith folded her arms. "I hate surprises."

"Too bad."

After driving on for a little while longer, Derek turned off the highway and pulled into a car park. "We're here."

"Hey!" Meredith frowned, looking closely at the name of the restaurant. "This is...I told you about this place ages ago."

Derek shrugged. "After the party we had for Ed, I remembered you telling me about how you and he always used to come eat here when he came to visit."

"Thanks, Derek." Meredith smiled, and they got out of the car.

They made their way into the restaurant and were seated at a table near the window overlooking the water with all the boats and ferries.

"It's pretty here," Derek commented after they ordered, and Meredith laughed.

"That's why Ed liked it," she explained. "He said that there's no point in having great food if there's no view."

"He was a smart man, then."

"Yeah, he was," Meredith said, and she smiled sadly. "I wish he could've been alive to see the twins."

"I think he knows anyway, somehow."

"Probably." Meredith nodded. "If he can see us right now, you know, if you believe all the 'looking down from heaven' thing, then I'll bet he's thinking you've changed a lot."

"So he'd like me?"

"Yeah. He'd like you."


	21. Twice?

"Hello?"

"She's not home yet."

"Meredith?"

"Yeah, it's me. Sam isn't home yet."

Danny rolled his eyes, "This surprises you?

"A little bit. I mean, I know how she is but Mark's supposed to want Addison back and she knows what kind of guy he is."

"Mere, you're obsessing."

"I am not."

"Yes, you are and that usually means you're trying not to think about something. So, what's up?"

"I had a date with Derek last night."

"You did? So, we're giving McMarried another shot?"

"No, we're giving McHis-Divorce-was-Final-last-week another shot."

"Right. So, what's going on?"

"I want him."

"You're dating. You have him."

"No, Danny, I mean I _want_ him."

"Oh."

"Yeah. You know being pregnant is a real pain. You can't drink and you're horny and normally drinking makes the horniness go away."

"But you can't drink."

"Exactly."

"So jump him," Danny smiled.

"I can't."

"Why not?"

"Because I'm just not ready to go there yet no matter what my body wants."

"Mere, you know I love you, right?"

"Yeah, I love you, too."

"Good. So, here it is, from me to you. Take it easy with him. If your heart's not ready, you're not ready and if Derek loves you, he'll understand that."

"Whatever you say Big Brother."

"And remind Shepherd that as a big brother, I am always watching and that if he hurts you, there won't be anywhere for him to hide."

"I will." Meredith's ears heard the front door creaking open, "Danny I gotta go. Someone's doing the walk of shame."

"Call me later."

"I will. Bye."

"Bye."

Meredith hung up the phone and then went to the kitchen door just as Sam got to the bottom of the staircase.

"Good morning, Samantha. Have a nice night?"

"Fine, _Mom_," Sam growled.

"So, how was the date?"

"I hate Mark," she grumbled.

"Really? Why's that?"

"He's way too good in bed."

"I knew it! You like him."

"I do not like him. I was impaired."

"Sam, you can hold your liquor pretty well," Meredith reminded her. "You must really like him."

"This is your fault. You had to set me up with him."

"I apologize. Are you hung over?"

"No, not really."

"Good. Go upstairs and get dressed. We'll go out and shop. I need to start decorating the nursery formerly known as my mother's office."

"I still hate you," Sam said, going upstairs.

"I know," Meredith smiled. She waited until she heard the door to the bathroom shut and then dialed Derek's cell.

"Hello?"

"Want an opportunity to rag on Mark?"

"I'm listening."

"He did the nasty with Sam last night."

"Oh I'm going to enjoy my day a lot more than I thought."

"Have fun."

"Hey, what time does Sam leave?"

"We're gonna go shopping so not anytime soon and the guys get back tomorrow."

Derek nodded on his end. "See you at work on Monday?"

"I'll be there," Meredith smiled.

"Bye."

"Bye."

GAGAGAGA

"It's early." Mark squinted his eyes to see his friend standing at the door, laughing.

"It's nine o'clock."

"Exactly."

Derek pushed past the plastic surgeon and walked into the apartment. "You know," he said, turning around, "You're not going about this the right way."

"What are you talking about?"

"Getting Addison back," Derek said. "Addison – you know, the redhead you supposedly love?"

"You're funny." Mark made a face and sat down on the couch. "Besides, I still do love her."

"Of course."

"I do!" Mark repeated indignantly.

"Right." Derek frowned. "Where were you last night?"

"At Joe's, because I—" Mark stopped. "I know where you're going with this."

"Sam was at Joe's last night, too," Derek smiled. "Funny that."

"You're a crack up."

"She got home late last night, apparently," Derek added. "And so did you, because you stood me up for the game last night. You double booked, without telling me."

"I'm sorry."

"It's fine. I guess I can understand your choice of Sam over me."

"Shut up."

"Hey, I'm just repeating what my source told me."

Mark narrowed his eyes. "Meredith, right?"

Derek shrugged. "She knows everything."

"She should be a nurse."

GAGAGAGAGA

"Twice?"

"Once after charity thing and then they hooked up at Joe's on Sunday."

"Sam did McSteamy twice?"

"Yep."

"Damn," Cristina shook her head.

"Sam is blaming the alcohol for both times."

"I'm sorry. No one can be that drunk. All Sam talked about when you two dragged me shopping on Sunday was how much she _hated_ Mark and then she sleeps with him again? No. She likes him."

"Dude, Sloan is in the mood from hell," Alex said as he sat down next to Meredith. "Remind me to thank Sam, will you?

"No problem. I wonder what kind of mood Montgomery's in. George is assigned to her today."

"I think we're about to find out," Cristina said. "Hey George."

"Alex, will you switch with me? Addison likes you."

"You don't want Sloan, trust me," Alex shook his head.

George groaned and dropped his head on the table.

"So I'm guessing Addison knows that Sloan did the nasty with Sam?"

Meredith's phone rang, cutting off any answer. She looked at the display, "Speak of the devil." She opened it and said, "Hi Sam. How was your flight?"

"You're still selling your condo right?"

"It's good to hear your voice too."

"Mere, this isn't a social call."

"Fine. Yes, I'm still selling it. I want something a little bigger and I don't want to be crammed in with Aunt Jill when I visit."

"That explains the brochures all over the living room," George muttered as Meredith shot him a dark look.

"I have an interested party."

"Sam, it's not even on the market officially and I have an interested buyer too."

"You do," Alex asked as Meredith nodded.

"Who," Sam asked.

"None of your business," Meredith told Sam as she wrote something down on a napkin and passed it to Alex.

"Mere, tell her or she'll hurt you when she finds out," Alex said quietly.

Cristina grabbed the napkin and her mouth dropped open, "Seriously? I'm with Alex. Tell her."

George looked and nodded, "Tell her or I will."

Meredith sighed, "Sam?"

"What?"

"The person who wants to buy the condo from me? It's Mark."

"What?"

"Yeah. He heard me talking to Bailey this morning and he asked me if I'd give him first shot."

"No. I will get my whale to double his asking price if you promise me you will not sell your condo to that man."

"Sam."

"He can afford it, trust me. Just please don't sign anything until you hear from me."

"You have twenty four hours. If I don't hear from you by then, I'm taking Mark's offer."

"Deal. Bye."

"Bye."

Meredith closed her phone. "What?"

"You want Mark to get that condo, don't you?"

"I want him to have a woman who knows what she wants and can keep him in line and doesn't leave him high and dry."

"Why so protective of McSteamy," Cristina asked.

"He's Derek's best friend and he's going to be Melinda's godfather. I want him to be happy and positive in his life so he can be a happy and positive influence for my daughter. I don't think Addison is going to be the one to do that for him."

"While I'm not Mark's biggest fan at the moment, I'm with Mere," George said.

"Well, judging by Montgomery's attitude today she is not happy about Mark's recent activities."

"Wouldn't I love to be a fly on that wall," Cristina smiled.

"Wouldn't we all?"

GAGAGAGAGA

"Good morning."

Mark took a sip of his coffee and turned to look at the red head standing behind the desk. "Morning, Addison."

"How was your night?" Addison asked, picking up a stack of folders from the desk.

Mark looked at her. "What do you mean?"

She rolled her eyes. "Oh, come on, Mark."

"Seriously, what?"

"The nurses talk, you know," Addison said, and frowned. "You come here full of promises and other crap like that and now you're with one of Meredith's friends?"

Mark put his coffee down and crossed his arms. "That's not fair, Addison, and you know it."

"Don't try to put this on me!"

"Fine," Mark said. "I came here full of promises for you, but you didn't take them. Is it my fault that you passed them up and now you're jealous?"

Addison glared at him. "I'm not jealous."

"Then why do you care who I'm sleeping with?"

"Because it's –"

"Don't say 'because it's one of Meredith Grey's friends'," Mark warned, and Addison paused.

"You know what?" she said. "I don't care who you sleep with."

"Good."

"Fine."

"Okay."

8


	22. Definition of a Father

"Oh my God. What the hell is he doing here?"

"Mere," Alex rose an eyebrow. "You okay?"

"What's who doing here," George asked.

"Thatcher."

The boys peered around Meredith who quickly turned so that she wasn't in profile. Her pregnancy was becoming more noticeable, especially from the side and the _last_ thing she wanted at that moment was for Thatcher Grey to get any grandfatherly ideas in his head.

"You okay," Alex asked.

"No."

"Here," George gave her a file and took one from her. "It's Burke's patient. You take it and I'll take Shepherd's. I'll explain when he gets here. Go."

"Thanks George," Meredith said as she went towards the elevator, George and Alex closing the gap so that she couldn't be seen.

Derek came over a few moments later. "Dr. Karev, Dr. O'Malley. Where's Meredith?"

"We traded."

"Excuse me?"

"Over your shoulder about ten feet down the hall, that's Thatcher Grey," Alex explained quietly. "Meredith started having a meltdown when she saw him so we sent her to Burke."

"Okay. Did you read the file, Dr. O'Malley?"

"Yes sir," George nodded.

"Then let's get going."

"See ya."

"Later man," Alex nodded, taking the last bite of the piece of cake he, Meredith, and George had been eating before Thatcher showed up.

"Karev, Montgomery wants you to talk to the father of one of the patients she has," Bailey said as she walked up to him.

"Sure. Where is he?"

"Over there. It's Thatcher Grey. Speaking of, where's Meredith?"

"She and George traded for the day. She's up in Cardio."

"Okay. That's probably a good thing. Get going."

"Yes ma'am."

Bailey walked away and Alex looked over at Thatcher Grey and sighed. This was going to be _fun_.

GAGAGAGA

"I need to sit down," Meredith said, walking over to the plastic chair slowly. "Rest. Now."

Cristina raised an eyebrow. "What's wrong?"

"I've been running around all day. Plus Sam won't stop calling me, and Mark keeps asking me questions about Sam and does she like Chinese food?" Meredith rolled her eyes. "Those two were made for each other, I'm telling you."

"Right. Well, that doesn't sound too bad," Cristina shrugged. "Something else happened, didn't it?"

"My father showed up."

Cristina looked at her. "Seriously?" she asked. "Did he see you? Or ask you anything about the twins?"

"I didn't give him the chance," Meredith admitted. "I ran away."

Cristina frowned. "Maybe you should talk to him, ask what he wants."

"He'll probably just act all fatherly and tell me he wants to see his grandchildren grow up but in reality he'll stay away," Meredith replied.

"You don't know that."

Meredith narrowed her eyes. "Are you on his side or mine?"

"I'm neutral," Cristina announced. "You should talk about this with Derek."

"You're my person," Meredith muttered, "So you can't be neutral. You can't be both."

"Shut up."

GAGAGAGAGA

"Hey Joe, here you go," Meredith put down a box on the bar. "All my Johnny Cash CDs and a few other artists just for fun. Don't worry, they all fall into the theme of tonight."

The friendly bartender smiled at the intern, "Thanks Meredith." He opened the box and took out one of the CDs on top. "Moe and Joe: Live at Billy Bob's Texas?"

"Track eighteen's my favorite," Meredith smiled.

"I'll tell Walter. He's playing DJ tonight."

"Okay. Can I have a Cape Cod?"

"You got it."

"Thanks Joe," Meredith said when he set her drink down in front of her.

"That had better not have alcohol in it," Alex said as he sat down next to her on one side and George sat on the other.

"Like Joe would serve me any even if I asked for it?"

"Beer, Alex?"

"Thanks Joe," Alex nodded.

"George?"

"Yeah, please."

"Fair warning, I am really tired," Meredith said.

"Okay," George nodded.

"You should go home."

"I don't feel like being by myself," Meredith smiled a little.

"Are you okay?"

"Yeah. I am okay. I wasn't at first. I was just freaking out but then something happened that made me realize I didn't miss out not having Thatcher in my life."

"What was that?"

"Dr. Burke's patient today was a teenager and he was scared so I just started talking to him about stupid things and somewhere down the line he asked me about my parents. I said my mom was a doctor and he asked if my dad have been one too and without thinking I said no he'd been in law enforcement."

"You were thinking about Ed," George said quietly.

"Yeah. I think that's why the idea of Thatcher trying to play Grandpa to my kids bothers me so much. He's not my dad. I had a dad and he may not have been perfect by any means but he was there when I needed him and he threatened my boyfriends. Isn't that what dads are supposed to do?"

Alex and George grinned.

"And there's a reason for Melinda's name and Dylan's middle name. I had Ed, Jill, and Delinda and my kids are gonna have you guys."

"And Derek's family," George added.

"Derek's sisters and mom live across the country. You guys are the ones who are gonna be here to teach them things."

"What could we possibly teach them," Alex asked.

"George can teach Melinda how to survive older brothers and you guys and Danny can teach Dylan how to look out for his little sister. I know this because you all are so good at looking out for me whether or not I think I need it."

Alex grinned and George nodded, "You got that right."

GAGAGAGAGA

"Did Joe get a karaoke machine?" Mark winced as he and Derek walked into Joe's, hearing singing as they entered.

"God, I hope not," Derek muttered, "Or else we'd have to find a new bar to go to."

"Good ol' boys we're all the same, ain't no way we'll ever change, mean no harm by the things we do." A few voices mingled together as the chorus began, and Mark turned to Derek.

"Are you seeing what I'm seeing?"

"Unfortunately," Derek said, and walked over to the bar. He leaned on the counter and looked at Alex. "Hey."

"What?"

Derek gestured to Meredith. "What happened to her?"

Meredith whacked him. "My singing isn't that bad, you know."

"All the same," Mark said, taking a seat next to George, "Maybe you should just let Derek handle the lullabies."

"Shut up," Meredith rolled her eyes, while the boys laughed. "It's not like you guys can do any better."

"Is that a challenge?" Alex asked.

"Yes." Meredith narrowed her eyes. "You sing the chorus of 'Just Good Ol Boys', and Joe rates it out of ten."

The men exchanged looks. Finally, Derek spoke. "Okay. You're on."

They called Joe over and explained the rules.

"You realize it's a busy night, right?" Joe told them, and Alex rolled his eyes. "We're your best customers."

"Just get on with it."

GAGAGAGAGA

"So, how was Joe's last night," Cristina asked as they got changed.

"Fun. Where were you and Burke?"

"Burke was tired and he was my ride so we just went home. What'd you all do?"

"We sang."

"Excuse me?"

"George, Alex, and I sang along with one of the songs and then Derek and Mark sang the same song's chorus. Joe had to judge who was better."

"So, who won?"

"We did. I love Derek and Mark's a good guy but they don't have the prettiest of voices," Meredith smiled.

"Neither do George and Alex."

"True but Alex does have some musical inclinations. His dad was a musician."

"I didn't know that."

"Yeah. I think he was a sax player."

"Hmm. So, any sign of Thatcher?"

"Not since yesterday. He's probably in the nursery."

"And are you going up there?"

"No. They're not my family Cristina."

"Okay. C'mon. Bailey's waiting."

The two doctors exited the locker room and ran right into Thatcher Grey.

"Meredith," he said.

"Hello," she said calmly. "Can I help you?"

"How are you?"

"I'm fine."

"I heard from some of the nurses upstairs that you were pregnant."

"Gotta love hospital gossip," Meredith said uncomfortably.

"So, you are?"

"Yes, I am."

"That's wonderful. If you need anything-"

"Stop.""I'm sorry?"

"Look, Thatcher, I don't need you to be my dad. I had one. He wasn't perfect but he was there. That's what dads are supposed to be. They're supposed to be there and you never were at least not with me. So, as far as I am concerned my dad died a few months ago. Have a nice day, Mr. Grey."

Meredith turned and walked away.


	23. The Calm

"This place is so white."

Meredith turned around. "Danny," she laughed, "it's a hospital. It's supposed to be white."

"Oh, come on. If I were dying I'd like a little color here and there," Danny rolls his eyes. "All this white makes me feel like I'm in heaven, or something."

"As if you'd ever get there," Cristina said, as she walked over to Meredith.

They high fived, while Danny looked on, "Yeah, ha-ha."

"So," Meredith turned to Cristina. "What's up? I thought you were doing that tumor case with George."

"Yeah, turns out you're needed, too," Cristina shrugged. "I would have paged you, but George is telling lame jokes to the patient's kids, and I really had to get away."

"Oh." Meredith frowned, turning back to Danny. "Um, Danny, how about you just wander around or something? Or…" she trailed off, looking down the hallway. "How about you hang out with Derek?"

Derek was walking down the hallway with two charts under his arm. "Hey," he greeted Meredith, and then saw Cristina and Danny behind her. "What are you doing here?"

"I came to—"

"Yeah, whatever," Meredith frowned, "Derek, I need to go up and see a patient, so d'you think you could show Danny around or something for a while?"

There were protests of "I really don't think that's a good idea" and "Oh, come on" from both men, but Meredith insisted.

"Please?"

Cristina looked at her watch. "Meredith, come on."

Derek sighed. "Fine."

Meredith grinned. "Great!" she called, and walked off to the elevator with Cristina.

Danny looked over at Derek. "This should be fun."

GAGAGAGAGA

"You left Danny alone with Derek," Alex asked. "Dude, I thought you liked Danny."

"And you're supposed to be in love with Derek," George said, his mouth full of his lunch.

"I do and I am," Meredith told the boys. "I just think that they both need to learn to live with each other."

"Why?"

"Because I am in love with Derek and Danny's my family. He has been since the night Ed introduced us and he will be even if in the end he and Delinda don't make it. So they have to learn to live with each other."

"They're going to kill each other," George said.

"Maybe they need to," Alex commented. "It might help."

"Ten bucks says one of them ends up with a black eye," Cristina said from the end of their table.

"You are an awful, mean person," George said with a frown as he got up and left them.

"Just trying to make things more interesting," Cristina rolled her eyes as she followed him, leaving Alex and Meredith alone.

"You okay?"

"Yeah," Meredith nodded. "I'm good."

"You sure? I live with you remember? You dragged out your Highway Men CD this morning. You only do that when you're bordering on depressed because for some strange reason they cheer you up."

"Yes, they do but that's not why it was dragged out this morning. It was dragged out to give the babies a chance to become familiar with what I listen to."

"Poor kids," Alex smirked.

Meredith frowned at him, "Change of subject please."

"Okay. Hey, do you have a date tonight?"

"Uh, no. But speaking of dates, what's this I hear about you turning down Callie's new scrub nurse for the, what was it, fifth time in the last two weeks?"

"I don't feel like having a random hook-up."

"Since when?"

"I just feel like, what's the point? I see you guys involved in relationships with one person and I think that it might be a good idea for me too."

"Good for you, Alex. So, what's her name?"

"Whose?"

"You have someone in mind, I know you do."

"Maybe."

"Oh no, you're not gonna try again with Olivia are you?"

"No."

"You're not still stuck on Izzie, right?"

"No, that's long over with, I know that."

"You've been working with Addison a lot lately," Meredith said carefully.

"It's not the ex she-Shepherd."

"Are you going to make me keep guessing or are you going to tell me?"

"Mary."

"Mary? What, you mean Mary Connell?"

"Yeah."

"She and Casey-"

"Broke up about two weeks ago," Alex said. "Look, we just kept in touch after we met. I emailed her to thank her for the picture and it just kind of kept going from there."

"I should be so pissed at you right now," Meredith smiled.

"Excuse me?"

"I can't believe you didn't tell me," Meredith said. "Best friend, here," she pointed at herself. "You're supposed to tell me these things."

"There wasn't much to tell until a couple of weeks ago. But so far, it's going okay."

"Good." The ring of her cell phone made her groan and she lifted it so she could see who was calling her. "It's Callie," she frowned before answering it. "Callie? What's up?" Meredith's brow furrowed. "Callie, spit it out." A few moments more and, "He broke Danny's nose?"

GAGAGAGA

"I can't believe this."

Derek looked at Meredith. "I didn't mean to, okay? It just, happened."

Danny rolled his eyes, and tried to sit up. "It did not. You did it on purpose!" he said, as Callie pushed him back onto the bed.

"You were being an ass!" Derek frowned.

Danny looked at Meredith. "How can you stand him?" he asked.

"Can you shut up?" Callie asked. "I need to set your nose, okay Danny, and so I need you to be still. And plus, I really don't want to find out where this conversation is going."

Meredith laughed. "Seriously, Callie. _Derek _broke Danny's nose."

"Excuse me." Derek crossed his arms. "That sounded like you couldn't believe it."

"Oh, come on," Meredith grinned. "I bet that Mark is the only other guy you've punched in your life."

"So?"

"So, Danny is in security at the Montecito. He bashes people up all the time."

"I wouldn't put it that way," Danny muttered defensively.

"What?" Meredith shrugged, "You do. Anyway, I'm just wondering how you managed to break Danny's nose, and not the other way around."

Derek rolled his eyes.

"He had an unfair advantage okay?" Danny spoke up. "So he got a better punch in."

"It was totally fair."

"Oh, really? Because I really don't remember there being—"

"Guys," Meredith said loudly. "Seriously? Shut up."

"Meredith," Danny started.

"No. When you're done here, we're going to my house and we're going to have dinner and we're going to talk about this."

"Meredith-"

"Eh!"

"But-"

"No arguments."

GAGAGAGA

Meredith looked at her dinner companions and frowned. Derek and Danny both kept stabbing the meat on their plates viciously and then glaring at each other before they took another bite.

She put down her fork and cleared her throat. She waited until they were both looking at her before she spoke.

"Okay guys, this whole thing is getting the slightest bit ridiculous. The fighting, the pettiness, and the animosity have got to stop."

"Why," Derek asked.

"Why? Because I cannot be in the middle this. But more than that, I won't be in the middle of this. You two have got to learn to live with each other. I am not asking you to be best friends, but I am asking that you don't try to kill each other every time you're alone for more than five minutes."

"Meredith," Danny started.

"No. Danny, he screwed up, okay? No argument. He didn't tell me about his wife, he went back to his wife, and yes he strung me along."

"I didn't-"

"Yes, you did," Meredith said. "He insulted me and then he slept with me. Then he stayed with his wife until she cut him loose. He screwed up. But you've got to let that go."

"Why?"

"Because one day he and I are going to get past all of this crap and we're going to raise our kids together and because I am stupidly, hopelessly in love with his sorry ass." Meredith smiled, "And because if it was you, I'd respect you enough to try and co-exist with the woman you chose."

Danny nodded, conceding Meredith's point as she turned to Derek.

"I don't want to know what you think about what I just said only what I'm about to say. Save the first part for later, okay?"

"Okay."

"We are getting past it. The lies and the screw ups and the name calling," Meredith smiled. "But there is something you need to do. You need to learn how to live with the other men in my life. You're learning to live with George and Alex. You'll eventually learn to live with Mike and Casey when you meet them. You have to learn to live with Danny because he's not going anywhere even if he and Delinda don't make it in the end because no matter what happens with them Danny will _always_ be my brother. He will always be my family and he will always have been there for me when you weren't. I love you Derek, but I'm not giving up anyone for you."

"Alright," Derek nodded.

"Now, I don't expect the two of you to join hands and sing camp songs and I don't see the two of you becoming the best of friends but I would like it if you tried to become friends. Even if you're only the kind of friends that watch a ball game or drink the occasional beer with each other. You're both part of my life and you're both going to have a place in the lives of my children. You two may not think you have any common ground but you do. You both love me in some way. Start from that."

SGSGSGSGSGSGSGSG

"Fantastic," Meredith sighed as her phone rang, and shifted all the folders in her right hand to her left, getting her phone out with the other hand. "Hello?"

"Meredith Grey?"

Meredith nodded, setting the folders down on the counter beside her. "Yeah, speaking."

"Hi, I'm John Terry from the Village Rehabilitation Centre. I'm calling about—"

Meredith cut him off. "Izzie Stevens."

"That's right," John confirmed.

"Has something happened?" Meredith asked, worried. "Has she done something?"

"It's nothing like that, actually," he replied, "I'm just calling to let you know that she's ready to come home."

"Oh." Meredith frowned. "So is…she okay?"

"Better than before."

"Well then, that's great!" Meredith grinned. "We've missed her. Me and my friends, I mean. She's been gone a long time."

"I'll be in touch again later with details," John said, "I just wanted to let you know."

"Okay then. Thanks!" Meredith hung up, smiling as Cristina came into the room. "Guess what?"

"You won a million dollars," Cristina said, "and you want to give it all to me?"

"No." Meredith shook her head. "Izzie's coming home! Well, she should be. The guy on the phone was a bit fuzzy on the details, but I think that Iz coming back is the main idea."

Cristina nodded, "That's great, Mer." She grinned. "Wait until we tell the guys. Have you seen George lately? He's practically going nuts without his best friend."

"Let's go, then."

7


	24. Storm

"Oh my God," Meredith said slowly looking at the TV screen. "Alex come look at this."

"What's up Mere? Oprah doing that give away thing again," Alex said walking over to his friend's side. He followed her gaze to the TV screen. "Damn."

"Karev, go get an emergency travel kit and meet me in the bay," Bailey said walking past them at top speed. "Grey, you are staying here, no arguments."

"Dr. Bailey, I am perfectly capable-" Meredith went after her.

Miranda stopped abruptly, nearly causing Meredith to crash into her and turned around, "You are growing people. You are going to stay here and sew and if the opportunity presents itself, you will go into surgery. But if you think I am taking a pregnant woman to a crazy ass accident scene you are sadly mistaken."

Meredith hid a smile, wondering if Dr. Bailey would appreciate knowing how much she sounded like Uncle Ed at that moment. She nodded complacently and Dr. Bailey nodded before she left. Meredith found Alex, Cristina, and George suiting up.

"C'mon Mer, hurry up," Cristina said, pulling her hair back into a ponytail.

"I'm not going. Bailey won't let me."

"Isn't that prejudice," George asked.

"No, it's looking out for my safety and the safety of my unborn children and since we're on the subject, you guys be careful, alright? As Bailey pointed out it's a crazy ass accident scene. Anything could happen."

"We'll be fine, Mere. Take care of godson, alright," Alex squeezed her shoulder as he headed past her.

"And my goddaughter," Cristina reminded her as she followed.

Meredith looked to George, "How you doing?"

"Callie wants us to try again."

"Oh boy," Meredith winced.

"I can't Meredith. I just, I can't do it."

Meredith nodded as George stood up. She gave him a hug which surprised him because Meredith was not normally a hugger.

"It's hormones. They're making me girly," Meredith said quietly before she released him. "Go on. They're waiting."

"Thanks Mere."

"No problem."

GAGAGAGAGA

"Meredith! Oh my god, you're _alive_!" Meredith moved the phone away from her ear slightly as Delinda's screeches echoed through the phone line.

"Yeah, Dee, hi," Meredith smiled. "I saw the ferry crash on CNN, and realized that you guys could see it over there, too. I decided to call you so you wouldn't worry."

"Well, you're like, twenty minutes too late," Delinda replied. "The crash has been on the news for the past half hour, and ever since then I'd been going out of my mind."

"I'm sorry," Meredith said. "I only realized now. And plus, I've been run off my feet. The hospital's full of ferry victims."

"Then I'd better let you get back to it," Delinda said. "God, I feel so inadequate when I talk to you, you know. You save lives in a hospital, and I work in a casino."

"I know," Meredith said, and grinned, "I rock."

"Shut up. Now go save lives."

"Bye, Dee. Tell everyone I'm fine, okay? We're all okay."

"Will do," Delinda replied. "Bye!"

Meredith hung up, and sighed. Just as she set the phone down, it rang again.

"Hello?" she asked tiredly. "Meredith Grey speaking."

She hardly got to the end of her sentence, when Alex interrupted her. "Meredith."

"Alex?" she asked, "What's wrong? Are you okay?"

"I'm fine, Mer," Alex replied, and paused, "Uh, it's Izzie, actually."

"What do you mean?" Meredith frowned. "What about Izzie?"

"She's one of the injured," Alex said. "And badly."

GAGAGAGAGA

"Meredith," Addison approached cautiously as the intern sat watching the operation in front of her. "Are you okay?"

"No. The queen of 'I'm fine' is admitting to the fact that she is not okay."

"Maybe you should lie down."

"No. I have to watch this. I'm the only one here for Iz right now. Everyone else is still at the scene."

Addison looked down at the operating room and sat down next to Meredith. "What was she doing on the ferry? I thought she was still in the rehab center."

"We got the call a couple of days ago that she was being released." Meredith closed her eyes and shook her head before she opened them again. "The guys were getting her room ready for her and I bought a ton of baking supplies and yarn."

"Izzie's quite domestic."

"Yes she is." Meredith looked at Addison, "I heard they brought in a pregnant woman."

"Yeah. Bailey found her. She's being prepped now. I was going to ask if you wanted to scrub in but I think maybe I'll ask another intern."

"Thank you for the thought," Meredith said quietly.

"Sure. I better go. Meredith, I know I'm not your doctor but I want you to promise that if you feel even the slightest bit funny or weird, you will go up to OB and get yourself put on a monitor."

"You sound like my aunt Jill."

"I'll take that as a compliment," Addison said before she left.

_Okay, I know that I haven't always believed in you and I spent a fair amount of time railing at you as a teenager but Grandma said you work in mysterious ways and I always went to church with her without too much of a complaint so I'm asking you to not take her from us again especially when it looked like we were getting her back. 'Cause we need her back. My house hasn't smelled like baked goods in months and I miss that. George needs his best friend especially now with all his crap with Callie coming back up. Even Cristina and Alex need Izzie. She's the one that brightens up everyone. My kids need homemade stuff and no one in my family can sew or knit. All Deline women know how to do is shop. _Meredith smiled a little. _Call it our curse. But like I said, my kids need an Aunt Izzie and the rest of us just need Izzie. So, if you are up there and I think you are sometimes 'cause there are things that I've seen in my life that only you could be responsible for, please let her be okay._

GAGAGAGAGAGA

Meredith was staring at the ceiling of her bedroom. She, George, and Alex had been tossed out by Dr. Bailey about two hours ago with strict instructions not to be anywhere near the hospital until visiting hours or their next shift, whichever came first. She could hear the low murmur of Alex's voice from down the hall. He was probably talking to Mary. She smiled at the thought of her friends as a couple. Mary would be good for Alex. She heard footsteps and figured George had finally finished cleaning up the kitchen from this morning. The knock on her door made her smile.

"Come in," she called. She heard the door open and close. "What's up George?"

"Sorry, wrong guy."

Meredith propped herself up to see over her stomach and smiled at her visitor, "I didn't hear the bell."

"I saw the light on in the kitchen when I pulled up so I just knocked on the back door. George let me in," Derek smiled.

"Sit down," Meredith nodded to the end of her bed as she sat up and tucked her legs under each other. "I figured you'd still be in surgery."

"No, I finished the last one about two hours ago," Derek sat at the end of her and smiled at her. "How are you?"

"I'm better than I was when Izzie was in surgery and post-op. Now, that she's in an actual room I think I'm approaching fine. Not quite there yet, but give me some time."

"I'm glad you weren't at the scene today."

"After getting over my righteous indignation that Bailey didn't think I could handle it, I am too," Meredith admitted. "But if you ever tell her that, Melinda and Dylan will be your only offspring."

"Noted," Derek nodded.

"I talked to her about a month ago. Cristina and I were going to go up and at the last minute, Cristina got the flu and the boys didn't think I should go alone, so I just called her up and we talked for hours. I told her I was pregnant and there was this long silence, you know?"

"Right."

"Then she tells me that she is happy for us and she is jealous of me."

"Jealous?"

"Yeah because no matter what happens with you and me, I will always have a piece of you and she will never have that with Denny."

Derek nodded, "I see."

Meredith nodded and then she did something that completely surprised them both. She got up on her knees, wrapped her arms around Derek's neck, and kissed him. When she pulled away, Derek stared at her.

"What was that for?"

"That was for nothing. It wasn't because of hormones or anything. It was just because I wanted to. I meant what I said the other night at dinner, Derek. I do love you. The trust is coming back little by little but the love's always been there."

"I love you, too, Meredith."

GAGAGAGAGAGA

"George!" Callie stopped on her way to the nurses' station as she saw George walk down the hall towards her. "Hey."

"Hi, Callie," he said, and put the chart he was holding down on the bench.

"How's Izzie?"

George shrugged. "She's uh…" he frowned. "She's good, I guess. It's just weird, y'know, to have her just come back from rehab and then go straight back into hospital again."

"Yeah." Callie nodded. "Hey, uh, George."

"Yep?"

"I was just wondering if we could just talk for a second."

"Sure."

Callie shook her head, jerking her thumb toward an empty room. "I meant in private."

"Oh."

George followed Callie into the room, and closed the door behind them. "So, what's up?"

"I was wondering," Callie began, then started pacing nervously. "I was wondering if maybe you'd like to give you and me another try."

"You and me?" George repeated.

"Yes."

He frowned. "Callie, I…"

"You don't want to, do you?" Callie asked, and watched George shake his head. "I guess I kind of knew it."

"I'm sorry, really, I am," George said, "But I don't want to force something between us when it's not going to make either you or me happy."

"It's Izzie, isn't it?"

"Callie, I—"

She cut him off, shaking her head. "It's okay. I get it, George."

"I'm sorry."

Callie gave him a small smile, and then pushed past him out the door.


	25. Let's Have Some Fun

have a good Thanksgiving everyone!

* * *

"Okay, so just to make sure, you don't walk around like that in front of Alex and George do you?"

"Like what," Meredith said with an innocent look on her face. "In a pair of track pants and a bra?"

"Yes. I do not want to have to kill your roommates for impure thoughts about you," Derek grinned.

"Don't worry; I only walk around like this when I know I'm alone in the house or when you're around."

"Good."

"Izzie's the one who can't keep her clothes on," Meredith smiled. Then she paused and made a face. "That came out wrong."

"No, I get what you mean," Derek assured her. "So I've been thinking about something."

"Am I gonna like this?"

"Maybe."

"Okay, go ahead."

"I've been thinking about what to do with that land I own."

"And?"

"And I want to build a house."

"What?"

"I want to build a house. I know you and I are no where near ready to cohabitate but the trailer's too small for me to have you all over at the same time."

Meredith smiled, "That actually sounds really nice, Derek." She smiled as she sat down in his lap. "So, how did you sleep last night?"

"Okay. I almost forgot how comfortable your bed is."

"And you were okay with the no touching thing?"

"Not really but I figure I'll get up to being able to at least hold you one of these days."

"Maybe sooner than you think," Meredith smiled. "So, I want to ask you something."

"Okay."

"How would you feel about coming to Vegas with me next weekend? I'm signing the papers to sell my condo to Mark in a couple of weeks and I want to go and pack everything up and start looking at the houses I've narrowed my search down to."

"And you want me to come with you?"

"Yeah. You should meet more of my family and you'll get to weigh in on what you think of Sam and if she and Mark are a good idea."

"Yeah, alright," Derek nodded. "Sounds like fun."

"Just promise me one thing?"

"What?"

"No breaking of my friends, okay?"

"Okay."

GAGAGAGAGA

"This chocolate," Izzie declared, "is fantastic. Seriously."

Meredith nodded. "I know. Can you believe Derek hates it?"

"That's because he's a freak," Cristina muttered, then laughed. "Kidding. He's just one of those people that loves dark chocolate."

"Yeah," Izzie agreed, "Although, too bad George isn't like that. He always takes my whole stash. Any kind."

Meredith turned from the movie they were watching to Izzie. "So he's a chocolate person?"

"Person?" Cristina rolled her eyes.

Meredith nodded. "If you like dark chocolate, then you're a thoughtful, quiet person. Like Derek."

"And if you like milk chocolate?" Cristina asked, raising an eyebrow.

Meredith scrunched up her nose. "Um, say for example, Danny."

"Danny doesn't really strike me as milk chocolatey," Izzie said, shaking her head.

Meredith rolled her eyes. "Okay, fine. Then how about Mark? Would you say he's milk chocolate?"

Cristina thought for a moment. "I'd say he's more white chocolate."

"With cookie crumbs," Izzie added, and gave a nod of agreement. "Like, it's nice, but bad for you."

Cristina turned to her. "How is white chocolate worse than milk chocolate?"

"I don't know," Izzie shrugged, "Wasn't there some research that showed it was more fattening?"

"Mark's not fat, though," Meredith said, laughing.

"This is giving me a headache," Cristina muttered. "Can we just watch the movie and eat our chocolate without trying to pair types of chocolate with all the men we know?"

"Meredith started it," Izzie shrugged.

"Hey!"

GAGAGAGAGAGA

"So Meredith is taking you to Vegas," Burke asked of his friend while they observed an orthopedic surgery performed by Callie.

"Yeah. We're leaving on Friday."

"You nervous?"

"About what? I've met her aunt, Danny, and Sam. The only ones I haven't met are Delinda, Alex's new girlfriend Mary, and some guy named Mike."

"Mike's a good guy according to Cristina."

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. He's in surveillance and security with Danny but he used to be a valet. He's got an engineering degree."

"Nice."

"Yeah, he's also the one who came to tell Meredith about Ed when it happened."

"Did you ever meet him?"

"Ed?"

"Yeah."

"No, I didn't have the pleasure. Why?"

"I don't know. Meredith tells me bits and pieces about her family but I have yet to get the whole story."

"Maybe you should work on that this weekend."

"Good idea."

GAGAGAGAGA

"They're going to hate me."

Meredith rolled her eyes. "Derek, seriously," she said, "It's only Dee, Mary, and Mike that haven't met you already, and they'll love you."

"Right," Derek said, and gave Meredith a frown.

"Okay, fine," Meredith admitted, "Maybe not love you, since I'm pretty sure they'll have heard about what happened between you and Danny, but they'll like you."

"Alright."

"It'll be fine," she said, and nodded reassuringly.

"So, you went to Vegas with Alex last time, didn't you?" Derek asked.

"Yep," Meredith said, "It was fun. I loved dressing up that time to go to the party."

Derek nodded, ignoring her last comment. "So Alex would know about the Montecito and all your friends over there?"

"Uh…" Meredith frowned. "So do you, since I told you all about them."

"I need an unbiased description," Derek said.

Meredith laughed. "Seriously?"

Derek looked at her. "So, where's Alex?"

GAGAGAGAGA

"Danny," Meredith shouted when she walked into the Montecito and saw him standing with Mike. She dropped her bags, ran towards him, and jumped into his arms.

True to form, Danny caught her, "Good to see you, too, Mere."

"How's the nose," she teased as he set her down.

"Cute. It's fine," he shrugged. He looked behind her. "So, you brought him?"

"Danny, you promised," Meredith warned him.

"I know."

"So, what I am? Chopped liver," Mike smiled.

"Never. How's it going Mikey," Meredith hugged him. Then she turned to Derek, "Derek Shepherd, this is Mike Cannon."

"Good to meet you," Derek shook his hand. "Heard a lot about you."

"Same here," Mike said. "So you're the one who did this to our girl," he motioned to Meredith's stomach.

"Mike, would you like me to tell that girl in accounting that you're interested in about the girls I caught you with when I was out here last Easter?"

"Talk to you guys later," Mike smiled.

"You're scary when you want to be," Derek said.

"Yep. Danny, will you tell Delinda I'll see her at dinner? We're going upstairs and taking a nap. Well, I am. Derek, you're free to explore. I know you've never been here before."

"No. I'll go up with you. We can take in the sights tomorrow."

"See you later, then," Danny smiled.

Meredith and Derek rode up to her room and found their bags already there, by way of the bellman. Meredith sat down on the couch and slipped off her shoes before curling her legs under her. Derek, on the other hand, took the opportunity to look around the room. He stopped in front of the bookshelf and smiled at the pictures. He picked up one of Meredith, Delinda, and Nessa.

"Nessa's dad's name was Jackson Holt and he was my uncle's partner for a long time," Meredith said quietly, making Derek turn around. "Her mom died when she was young so whenever Jack and Ed were on a mission Ness would stay with Aunt Jillian and Delinda. Then one day, Ed comes home and tells us that Jackson's dead. From then on, last name notwithstanding, Nessa was a Deline."

Derek nodded before he put the picture down and then sat beside Meredith.

"Right around the time I started my residency, Nessa got a call from England, telling her that her sister was in the hospital. Jack had had another family after Nessa's mom died but he never told Nessa or Ed. Anyway, Ness went to England and Delinda went with her. The details between then and the end of the story are a little sketchy. Blame the CIA training Ed got. But in the end people wants to kill him, so Jack needed to assume a new identity and Nessa and Adana, that's Nessa's sister decided to stay with him. There's no going back once you make a decision like that."

"Did you say good-bye?"

"No. But she makes contact every once in a while. The last time was white roses to let me know she was getting married."

"Do you miss her?"

"Every day."

"I wish I'd known her?"

Meredith smiled, "Me too."

6


	26. Visiting

Sorry this took so long y'all. I take full responsibility for my writer's block mainly 'cause I _hate_ Grey's right now. Does anyone else wanna smack Rose and Derek? Meh!

* * *

"D'you want some potatoes?"

Derek looked up from his plate to find Danny looking at him expectantly. "Oh. Uh, no thanks, I'm good." "This dinner is great," Meredith commented. "Seriously, Aunt Jill. I haven't eaten like this for ages."

"Why," Danny gave Derek a suspicious look.

Meredith rolled her eyes. "Well, Izzie likes to bake cakes rather than cook actual food, so we usually get take out."

"Mostly pizza," Derek added.

"Right," Meredith nodded, "Because it's Alex's favorite."

"And how is Alex?" Delinda asked from the other side of the table. "I haven't talked to him in ages.""He's good," Meredith replied, "And where's Mary? I didn't get to see her today."

"Mary's trying to organize some group to come next week," Danny shrugged. "I can't remember what they're called."

Delinda rolled her eyes, "The Spice Girls."

Jillian frowned. "The group with the girl who's married to the soccer player?"

"Yep," Danny nodded. "That's the one. I always liked Baby Spice."

"Ginger was my favorite," Derek shrugged. "I was devastated when she left."

"You guys liked the Spice Girls?" Delinda asked, incredulously.

Danny shrugged. "Yeah."

Meredith took a long sip of water. "So, if I go search your room, Danny, I'll find an old copy of one of their albums up there?"

"Possibly," he frowned. "Yes."

GAGAGAGAGAGAGA

"What are you thinking about?"

Derek turned his head to see Meredith's profile as she stared at the ceiling, "Seriously?"

"Yeah."

"How interesting it's going to be when our families meet."

"God, I hadn't thought about that. Well, Nancy and Mark have met Sam and Aunt Jill so that's a start."

"Sam's family?"

"Sam is family. She's the badass sister everyone seems to either have or want." Meredith looked at Derek, "Who's your family badass?"

"Mark," Derek smirked.

"Right. Okay. Alex, George, Danny, Mike and even Casey are the big brothers that will forever treat the girls as though they're pure as the driven snow even though one of them got caught having sex by their father and another is unmarried and pregnant."

"Who got caught having sex?"

"Delinda. This was her and Danny, round one. Dee just looks over her shoulder and says 'Hi Daddy.' Oh Danny was ready to _die_."

"With everything you've told me about Ed, I'm kind of surprised Danny didn't die."

Meredith smiled and turned so that she was again looking at the ceiling, "He was overprotective but he'd had a good teacher. Grandpa was just as bad with Mom or so I'm told."

"What were they like?"

"My grandparents? Well Grandma is still alive and kicking. She's actually a lot like Delinda."

"A wild child," Derek asked.

"Yeah, but a little more reserved about it considering her age," Meredith said. "But Grandpa was the serious type or so I'm told. I don't remember him all that well. He died when I was ten. Alzheimer's."

"I'm sorry," Danny said.

"So were we," Meredith responded. "He was a Yankees fan."

"Really?"

"Yeah," Meredith turned her head to look at him. "I told you that, didn't I?"

"I don't think so."

"Nine generations of Delines came out of Queens. If we tried to root for anyone but the Yankees, we'd have been disowned."

"That include you?"

"I root for the Yankees," Meredith smiled. "What about you? Please tell me you're not a Mets fan."

"No. Yankee fan, born and bred," Derek smiled.

"Your dad?"

"Yeah."

"You know, you never talk about him. What was he like?"

"He was a doctor. He loved my mom and us. Other than that, I really don't remember him. Oh, I do remember that he liked boxing. That's one thing he and Mark's dad had in common. They always went to the local fights."

"Boxing huh? Did you ever follow it?"

"Nah. Why?"

"My great uncle Sid was a boxer."

"Sid the Kid Deline was your uncle?"

"Yeah. Wait, I thought you didn't follow boxing."

"The only fight I ever went to was when your uncle Sid fought Machete Davidson."

"Davidson was disqualified and thrown in jail for slicing up Uncle Sid with a razor blade that night. No one would ever fight him again after that."

"You couldn't have been there."

"No. I only ever saw Uncle Sid sparring at the gym with the guys that trained there. That story about the razor is legendary as is the scar it caused."

"Is he still around?"

"No. He died a couple of years ago. He was a good guy. I still have all of his stuff in the attic at my mom's. Grandma wanted to toss it when she sold the house last year but I wouldn't let her."

"Save it for Dylan."

"No. Dylan is never getting near a boxing ring or an operating room or a police station."

"Who was the cop?"

"Grandpa. Remind me when we get home. I have his gold shield in the back of my closet. Aunt Jill gave it to me after Ed died. She said to save it for my son. I didn't even know I was pregnant then."

"ESP?"

"Maybe."

"So what do you think they'll be?"

"I think that's the wrong question."

"What's the right one?"

"What do you want them to be? And the answer is simple. I want them to be happy."

"And what do you want for yourself?"

"To be better than my mother was," Meredith said quietly.

"At what?"

"Being a person," Meredith said.

"You already are."

Then Meredith did something Derek hadn't expected her to do. She rolled onto her side towards him and rested her head on his shoulder and her hand above his heart. Derek's arm curled around her shoulders and rested his other hand on top of hers.

"Thank you."

GAGAGAGAGAGAGA

"Which one looks better?" Delinda held up two tops, and turned around so Meredith could inspect the garments carefully.

"I'd say the purple," Meredith replied, "I like it."

"Great," Delinda smiled, and threw the green top back onto the rack. "So, I'll go pay for this, and then, d'you want to get something to eat?"

"Sure."

A few minutes later, they wandered around the food court of the mall, until they found a French restaurant and decided to eat there.

"I hate snails," Delinda commented, as she looked at the menu in disdain.

Meredith rolled her eyes. "I know," she muttered. "Don't think I forgot that time we ordered snails and you threw up."

"Mer, that was years ago."

"You threw up on _me_!" Meredith exclaimed, and then burst out laughing. "It was funny, though, seeing the look on your face after you realized that the whole restaurant saw you."

"Shut up."

The waiter then came over, and they ordered.

"Anyway," Delinda said, brushing a strand of hair out of her face, "I have something for you."

"Do you?"

"Well," Delinda tilted her head to the side, "It's not exactly for you, but…whatever."

She pulled out two tiny outfits – a shirt with Winnie the Pooh on it, and another with Eeyore, and set them down on the table.

"Dee." Meredith looked from the outfits to her cousin, smiling. "These are adorable."

"So you like them?" Delinda asked.

"Of course," Meredith replied. "Thank you so much."

Delinda shrugged. "Well, Danny and I were trying to think of what to get you, and then we decided on these. Winnie was always Danny's favorite, and I love Eeyore."

"Of course."

GAGAGAGAGA

"Danny, no military academies," Meredith said as she sipped her iced tea. Then she pointed at Mike, "And no early applications for M.I.T."

Danny and Mike looked at each other with matching grins and then back at Meredith, "We'll see."

"Delinda, help," Meredith groaned at her cousin as she came closer with a tray of food.

Meredith, Derek, Danny, Mike, Delinda, Sam, and Mary were all in Jillian's backyard for a barbecue and at the moment, Meredith, Derek, Danny, Mike, and Sam were sitting out by the pool while Mary and Delinda helped Jillian in the kitchen. Meredith was being let out of kitchen duty due to her condition and Sam was banned from any type of kitchen due to the fact that she nearly set Mystique on fire last time someone let her into the kitchen.

Delinda set down a tray of appetizers she'd snagged from Wolfgang Puck's restaurant and smiled at the guys, "C'mon you two. You know as well as I do, these two kids are bound for med school the moment they can hold a scalpel."

"Not on my watch," Meredith said. "They'll be lucky if I tell them where I work before they're teenagers."

"Oh I think you're fighting a losing battle there, Meredith," Derek said. "All of my sisters are doctors, remember?"

"Change of subject please," Meredith begged.

Delinda was seated next to Danny and she smiled at Derek, "What's your family like Derek?"

"He's the middle child. He has two older sisters and two younger sisters. His father's been gone since he was thirteen. He grew up with Mark Sloan who was and always will be a brother to him. His mother is old money and his father made it on his own," Sam recited before Derek could say anything.

"She read the file, too, right," Derek asked Meredith who smiled at him.

"Probably," she nodded.

"Right. Okay, since I have no secrets, let's talk about someone else. Mike, you went to M.I.T.?"

"Got an engineering degree," Mike nodded.

"He was the smartest and most well educated valet on the strip," Meredith said with a grin. "Now he works Surveillance and Security."

"And I make a lot less," Mike interjected.

"Hey, you know, Christmas is coming up," Meredith said after a moment. "Think you guys could make it to Seattle for the holiday? I know Vegas is like the place to be during the holidays but I'd love it if you'd all come up and stay."

Delinda tilted her head, "I think Mom and I could probably make it. Danny?"

"I'd have to talk to Casey about Mike, Mary, and me but it's a possibility, even if it was for just an overnight stay. Sam?"

"My whales tend to stay home during the holiday so yeah I can probably do that."

"Besides weren't you already coming up to see Mark," Derek asked with a smile.

"Busted," Meredith sing-songed.

"I hate you two."

"Love you, too, Samantha Jane," Meredith smiled.

OTHOTHOTHOTHOTH

"Meredith?"

Meredith yawned. "Cristina?" she asked, looking at her watch. "It's like, eight at night."

"I know."

"Are you okay?" Meredith frowned, thinking she detected something in Cristina's voice. "What happened? Is everyone alright?"

Cristina was silent for a moment, and then replied, "It's Burke."

"What happened?" Meredith got up from the couch where she was resting, and walked over to the large window in the hotel room, looking over the casino strip.

"He's moving away. From Seattle," Cristina further explained, "For work."

"Oh." Meredith breathed out slowly. "Cristina, I'm so sorry."

"Yeah."

"Are you…" Meredith frowned, "Are you upset? Or are you mad, or…?"

"I'm both, I guess." Cristina sighed. "I mean, how could he do this to me? One minute we're fine and the next he's telling me he wants to move."

"Did he ask you to go with him?"

Cristina didn't reply.

"Cristina, seriously."

"Yeah, he did."

"And you said no?" Meredith asked incredulously.

Meredith could tell Cristina was practically glaring at her down the phone line. "Yeah, and leave you guys? I don't think so."

"Do you want me to come home?"

"No!" Cristina practically yelled. "Enjoy your holiday. I'll be fine. Seriously. I just…wanted to tell you, that's all."

Meredith smiled. "Okay. Well, I'll be back in a few days, remember."

"I know."

"Go raid my fridge for all the chocolate Izzie's bound to have shoved in there, okay?"

Cristina rolled her eyes. "Will do."

"I'll see you, then."

"Bye, Meredith."

OTHOTHOTHOTHOTH

"So, he's leaving just like that," Delinda asked.

"Well, sort of," Meredith hedged. "Derek talked to him. He's helping Webber find a replacement and he's going to train said replacement and then he's leaving."

"Poor Cristina. She finally finds a guy who can keep up with her and he deserts her. Guys suck," Delinda pouted a little.

Meredith laughed. She and Delinda were currently lying on the floor of Meredith's room with their heads together.

"Not all guys."

"No, not all guys," Delinda agreed. "Speaking of guys, how are things shaping up with you and Derek?"

"Okay I think," Meredith smiled. "It's just a little weird 'cause he's never been here with me before and I was actually thinking about asking his opinion in the house I choose for future visits 'cause I'm hoping he'll be with me when I come out."

"Thinking about forever with him Mere?"

"Right now, I'll just be happy if we can get through the rest of my pregnancy and labor without me killing him or running for my life. He's so sure sometimes Dee and it scares me."

"He loves you. Any idiot can see that," Delinda said.

"I know he loves me. I love him too. I have for a long time but there's still this little part of me that wonders if I really know everything now."

"He's not a Mormon, Mere."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean he doesn't have any other wives waiting to come out of the woodwork."

"I know that."

"So, what's holding you back?"

"You know the night of the prom I almost left?"

"What do you mean?"

"I walked out of that hospital, got in my car, and seriously contemplated just going. I was just going to go somewhere that I didn't have to deal with Finn or Derek or even Izzie and I know how horrible that sounds but I just had this feeling that I was turning into my mother and I hated that."

"You're not turning into Ellis. You are nothing like Ellis. There have been times when I have wanted her around, yes. But thinking about it now, it's better that she wasn't around because she would have made everything about her and the inconvenience that it was causing her and her career. You would never look at your family like that. You're better than that and her."

"Derek told me that the other night."

"Well maybe he's not so brainless after all," Delinda smiled.

"Haha," Meredith smiled.

* * *

**So, what would you all think if we put Cristina with Mike?**


	27. News

Hey guys. So the writer's strike is over. YAY! We're getting more episodes of GA, Double Yay! On the down side, they canceled Las Vegas. "Hello? Seriously!" Anyway enjoy the chapter. We borrowed a plot line from the writers at LV. :)

* * *

"Alex, seriously?"

Alex didn't bother taking his eyes off the TV as he replied, "What?"

Izzie rolled her eyes, and put hands on her hips right in front of the television. "You're such an ass!"

"You're blocking my view here," Cristina complained. "Can you go tell him off somewhere else, please?"

Alex ignored her. "What'd I do?"

"You ate my last slice of pizza! You know I only eat vegetarian, but you ate mine and left all the meat slices." Izzie crossed her arms and glared at him.

"Whatever," Alex shrugged, and motioned for her to get away from the TV. "Sorry."

"I'm not moving."

"You're always complaining you're fat," George spoke up quickly, "which, by the way, you aren't. But think of it him doing you a favor."

They all turned to look at him.

"It was just a suggestion…" George frowned. "You know what? I'll go order some more pizza now."

He jumped up from the couch and walked into the hall to get the phone. Just as he picked up the receiver, the front door opened, and Meredith walked in.

"Meredith!" George exclaimed. "Hi!" He turned and shouted in the direction of the lounge room, "Guys, Meredith's back!"

The other three came rushing into the hallway.

"Hey!" Cristina said, hugging her. "How was Vegas?"

"Yeah, how is everyone?" Izzie asked.

Alex added, "And you. How are you?"

Meredith laughed. "Hey, you guys. I wasn't expecting you to all be home now."

"We were waiting especially for you," Alex told her.

"Shut up," she rolled her eyes.

"Derek called a while ago," Cristina said, "He said he'll stop by tomorrow, and wants to know everything that he missed after he was called back."

"And we just want to know everything," Alex pointed out.

Meredith grinned. "We'd better get started then, hadn't we?"

GAGAGAGAGAGA

"Don't ever lie to her," Meredith said.

"Especially about money," Alex added.

"Yeah if Casey hadn't they'd probably still be married," Izzie said.

"No, if Casey didn't make her so nuts they'd still be married," Cristina corrected. "I've never seen anyone get so unglued around a guy before."

"You four are very comforting, you know that," Mark said sarcastically.

The interns smiled at each other and then looked back at the operating room where George was currently assisting Derek on a tumor removal.

"Don't ever cheat on her," Meredith said suddenly, looking at Mark seriously. "Sam knows a lot of, how can I put this? A lot of interesting people," she said. "Your life won't be worth much if you ever cheat on her and I want you around to teach Melinda and Dylan things."

"I'll remember that," Mark said.

"Don't try and get in the way of her career. She's like Yang. Her career is very important to her," Alex said.

"And she's the best in Vegas," Izzie said. "So, if it gets serious, be prepared to move."

"You could make a good living in Vegas. A lot of Sam's whales have wives who wouldn't mind coming to Vegas just to get nipped or tucked," Cristina said without looking up from the operation.

"Slow down. It's just getting started. I can't even get her to go out on a real date yet."

"Well, she is coming to Seattle for Christmas, right?"

"Right," Mark nodded.

"So, do it then. By the way, you are invited for Christmas Eve and Christmas Day dinner."

"Who's cooking?"

"Probably Aunt Jill," Meredith said. "But I'm sure Izzie will supply us with plenty of Christmas cookies. Right Iz?"

"Yep," Izzie nodded

"Sounds like fun," Mark said.

"Hey Mere, just think. This time next year, you'll have two little people to buy for," Izzie said with a smile.

"Yeah I will," Meredith smiled.

"Looking forward to it," Alex asked.

"Yes, I am. Is that weird?"

"No," Izzie said.

"When do you go on maternity leave?"

"Next week," Meredith said.

"You'll have time to practice your knitting," Izzie smiled.

"Very funny."

GAGAGAGAGA

"I'll get it!" Meredith shouted as the phone began ringing beside the kitchen counter.

"No, I will." Izzie jumped up from her place on the couch watching TV and ran to the phone in the hall. "Hello?" she asked, at the same time as Meredith.

"Hi, um…Izzie? Or is that you, Mer?" the other voice replied. "It's Delinda."

"Oh, hi, Delinda!" Izzie grinned. "It's me, Izzie."

"And me," Meredith said, and walked over to Izzie with the cordless phone. "The phone rang, and I said I'd get it, but Izzie decided she wanted it, too."

"I thought it could be someone important for me," Izzie shrugged.

Meredith rolled her eyes. "It never is."

"Anyway, guys…" Delinda spoke up.

"Are you okay?" Meredith asked. "You're kind of quiet."

"Firstly," Delinda replied, "you and Iz have been busy arguing about important people and phones and secondly –"

"Oh, hey," Izzie interrupted, "Cristina's home."

Cristina closed the front door behind her and raised an eyebrow as she saw both Izzie and Meredith with an extension at their ear. "What's up?"

"Delinda," Meredith replied.

"Cool."

"Anyway," Meredith said, as Cristina walked off, "What did you want to talk about?"

Delinda sighed. "Maybe you should sit down."

"Is everyone okay?" Meredith asked quickly. "Aunt Jill, Danny, Mike? Everyone?"

"No. Well, yes. Well, not Danny," Delinda frowned. "I mean, I don't know. He might not be, after I tell him my news."

"What news? Are you dying?" Izzie exclaimed. "Oh my god, is it cancer?"

"Who's got cancer?" Cristina called from the study. "You know what, hold on." There was a beep of a phone being turned on, and then Cristina said, "Hey, Dee. Who has cancer?"

"No one!" Delinda exclaimed. "No one has cancer! God, if I did have a disease, don't you think that I'd be on the first plane over to Seattle Grace to see you guys and get you to fix me?"

Meredith smiled. "So then, what's the problem? Why won't Danny like your news?"

"Okay." Delinda took a deep breath. "Um, I'm pregnant."

The other three breathed out a collective sigh of relief.

"God, is that all?" Cristina asked.

"Is that all?" Delinda repeated. "Hi, have you ever talked to Danny about kids? He's…he hates them."

Meredith rolled her eyes. "Not true, Dee. Remember when I told him? He was so happy about getting to be an uncle and everything."

"Oh, sure. But he knows that with your kids, he's not going to have to be the one to wake up in the middle of the night when they're crying to feed them or change their nappies or whatever."

"Delinda, pretty much every guy is like that," Izzie explained. "But seriously, once they see the baby, they change their minds."

"Exactly," Cristina agreed, "We see it every day at the hospital."

"But…" Delinda groaned. "This is Danny we're talking about."

"You know what?" Meredith said. "I know this guy called Danny, too. He lives in Vegas and he's one of the most amazing people ever. One day he met this girl called Delinda, and I know that he loves her so much that she could have two heads and he wouldn't care."

"Sounds like him," Izzie agreed.

There was silence from the other end, and then, "So I should tell him?"

"If he doesn't combust out of happiness when you tell him, we'll be the first over there ready to kick his ass," Cristina assured her.

"Although I bet Sam and Mike would beat us to it," Meredith laughed.

"Okay," Delinda replied. "Thanks so much, guys."

"Good luck!" Izzie exclaimed. "And I just realized that we all forgot to say congratulations!"

"Oh. Of course," Meredith agreed, "Congratulations, Dee. I'm so happy for you! This is going to be great."

"Yeah, what they said," Cristina added. "Good luck with Danny."

"Thanks! Alright, I'll call you later, okay?"

"Bye, Dee!"

GAGAGAGA

"You're happy," Derek observed of Meredith one morning.

"Yes, I am," she agreed. "How 'bout you? You happy, Dr. Shepherd?"

"I have my moments. Why are you happy?"

"I can't say," Meredith said. "It's kind of a secret until I get the all clear."

"That's not fair."

"I know. Alex and George were so mad when we told them we couldn't say anything to them."

"We? Who else knows?"

"Izzie and Cristina," Meredith smiled brightly. "It's a girlie best friend thing. You have sisters Derek, you should understand that."

"I do."

"Good," Meredith nodded.

"I still want to know why you're smiling."

"I just got some good news last night and it made me happy. Is that a crime?"

"No. I still want to know though."

"See you later, Dr. Shepherd," Meredith smiled as she walked around him, wearing a smile much like the one she'd worn almost a year ago when she'd said _"I am so taking the stairs this time."_

"You're just mean. It's sad. Really," he shook his head.

As Meredith disappeared from sight Mark appeared, almost on cue. "Derek, what is with the women in this hospital?"

"What do you mean?"

"I got Izzie Stevens assigned to me this morning and she won't stop smiling. One of my patients has a baby and she kept making goofy faces at the kid instead of paying attention to the patient."

"Izzie gets goofy around kids and with Meredith pregnant she's probably extra goofy."

"Great, well then she and O'Malley should get busy having one of their own."

"What does Sam see in you," Derek asked as he walked away.

GAGAGAGAGA

"Meredith!"

Meredith held the phone away from her ear for a second as she yawned. "Danny?" she said. "You know it's like, midnight, right? We here in Seattle actually like to sleep."

"I know," Danny said, "You told me that last time. Or the time before that. But I have some news."

Meredith frowned. "News? What — oh, right."

"You mean you know already?" Danny sounded disappointed.

"Um, well, yeah. Girls always tell their friends these kinds of things first," Meredith explained, just as Izzie and Cristina barged into the room.

"What's wrong?" Izzie asked loudly.

"Who is it?" Cristina added. "Who could be calling so late? Is somebody dead?"

Meredith was rolling her eyes, about to respond when Alex sauntered casually into the room.

"Why d'you two always have to assume the worst?" he asked, sitting himself down on the edge of the bed. "For all you know it could just be McDreamy calling to ask how Meredith is. Even though he just left like, two hours ago. But whatever. It seems like something Sheperd would do."

"Guys," Meredith replied, "It's Danny."

"Hi, Danny!" Izzie said cheerfully.

"Hey," Cristina and Alex said.

"Tell them hi for me," Danny said, and Meredith looked at her friends.

"He says hi," she told them, "And that Dee told him about the baby."

Cristina and Izzie grinned, while Alex frowned, confused. "What baby? What…why don't I ever get told anything? Seriously."

"Was that Alex?" Danny asked Meredith. "Tell him I feel the same way, and that I always get told things last."

"Not true," Meredith rolled her eyes. "I told you I was pregnant pretty early."

"Oh, please," Danny argued, "Half of Vegas knew before I did!"

Izzie frowned. "How'd we get from Delinda being pregnant to Meredith being pregnant?"

"Danny thinks he always gets told things last," Meredith explained.

"I agree," Alex said. "Except for when its me being told last. It's either one of us, anyway. Why do the guys always get to know things last?"

"Shut up, Alex," Izzie said, and punched him on the shoulder.

"Hey!"

"You guys!" Cristina turned and shushed them.

"Sorry."

"Sounds like the crowd is getting rowdy," Danny observed. "I'd better go. And you had better sleep."

"Which was exactly what I was doing before you called, anyway," Meredith told him.

"I didn't know that you knew," Danny said, "Anyway. I'm going now. Sleep tight. Dee will probably be calling you in a few days."

"Okay. Bye, Danny," Meredith said, and then held out the phone.

"Bye!" Izzie said, and the other two followed suit.

"Good night."


	28. What are you saying?

Hey guys, sorry this took so long. Inspiration's a little hard to come by lately and I just started a new story that crosses over the OC and OTH. But here's a chapter and I have a feeling you're gonna like it. So enjoy, reply, tell me you love it, tell me you hate it but tell me something.

GAGAGAGAGAGAGA

"I love this show."

"That guy is such a tool," Alex commented.

"I always felt sorry for him," Izzie said with a frown. "Especially after she got engaged and he lost his only friend."

"You remember how he was written out? He was on his way to a Section 8 and the next thing we knew he was being transferred home and promoted to Lt. Col."

"They did the same thing when that actor who played the second boss did a guest shot. Guy was a first class loony tune and they made him a three star general."

"That's the television army for you."

Cristina came to the door of the living room and raised an eyebrow after looking at the TV. Then she looked at her friends, "May I ask why you all are watching this? It ended over twenty years ago and the war it's about was fought over fifty years ago."

"It's funny," Meredith said.

"Especially this episode," Izzie added.

:DING-DONG!:

"I'll get it. With any luck it's the men with the white coats," Cristina rolled her eyes as she went to the front door. "Oh. Meredith, it's Shepherd."

"Well, let him in."

"Okay," Cristina shrugged and opened the door. "Hi. C'mon in."

Derek followed Cristina into the living room and saw Meredith, Alex, and Izzie sitting on the couch.

"Where's George?"

"His folks' house. It's his dad's birthday," Meredith smiled brightly at him. "What are you doing here?"

"I thought we could walk the dogs."

"You sure you want to do that? Last time one of my dogs got near you, you ended up on your backside."

"Which one knocked me over again?"

"Cassie, my American foxhound," Meredith said as she got up from the couch and picked up the leashes by the front door. She jiggled them, gave a whistle, and what sounded like a stampeded came next as all six dogs ran to the front door. She hooked them all up and then gave three of the leashes to Derek. "You get Cassie, Bugsy, and Monty. I am going to take Bella, Chip, and Caesar. Maybe if you're holding on to Cassie she won't knock you over again," Meredith reasoned.

"Didn't work for O'Malley," Alex said.

"Shut up Alex," Meredith said as she ushered Derek out the door. They started their walk down the street and for once it wasn't raining in Seattle so they didn't hurry. They took their time as they walked down the street. "So, what's up?"

"What do you mean?"

"You had a reason for coming over. What's going on?"

"I guess I just wanted to see you. Is that a crime?"

"Not that I'm aware of," Meredith smiled. She and Derek came to an intersection and waited for the light to change. As they were waiting a car drove by with a bride and groom visible in the backseat.

Derek looked at Meredith and saw the soft smile on her face.

"It's sweet, isn't it," she looked at him.

"Yes it is. "

"Do you want to have dinner with me tonight?"

"Yes."

"Good."

Meredith and Derek crossed the street and just as they walked into the park Derek grabbed Meredith's arm and faced her. "Do you want to get married?"

GAGAGAGAGA

"Oh my god. _Oh my god_."

Izzie looked up from the TV to see Meredith stumbling through the doorway. "Hey, what's wrong?" she asked, jumping up and going over to her friend. "Are you okay? Is it the babies?"

"No, it's—" Meredith's explanation was cut off when Cristina and Alex, hearing Izzie's commotion rushed to her side.

"What's wrong?" Alex asked worriedly, as Cristina practically dragged Meredith to the couch.

Meredith groaned. "I'm fine! Nothing's wrong with the babies, okay? I'm _fine_."

"Oh." Izzie crossed her arms with a frown. "I don't buy that. Something happened."

"Yeah," Alex agreed. "What's going on? What aren't you telling us?"

Meredith rolled her eyes. "God, you guys could work as interrogators for the FBI or something. Seriously. You're scaring me."

"Meredith…" Cristina began nicely, sitting down next to her. "We just want to—"

"Okay." Meredith sighed. "Derek…proposed to me."

Izzie let out a yell of excitement and jumped up and down. "Oh my god. Wow! He proposed! That's so amazing!"

Alex looked at Meredith carefully. "You're not…you told him no?"

Cristina elbowed her gently in the side. "_What_ did you say to him?"

Meredith shook her head. "I didn't say anything. I just…ran away. I didn't know what to say."

"Oh, no." Izzie slumped against the wall. "This is old "I'm scared of commitment" Meredith coming out again."

Meredith decided against throwing the lamp on the table beside her at Izzie, and instead settled on saying firmly, "That's not what this is about. I was just nervous. I needed time to think and we were practically in the middle of the street. And it was unexpected!"

"Um," Alex frowned, "You're kind of having twins with the guy so I'd have thought you would have seen it coming, Mer."

Cristina looked at him in agreement. "That's true. He's practically living here anyway, and he's totally the type to want the old fashioned big house with 2 kids and a wife."

"So what are you saying? That I should say yes?"

Izzie shook her head. "Meredith, we can't really help you with this. It's between you and Derek – you have to talk to him and figure it out."

GAGAGAGAGA

"You screwed up buddy," Joe said to the neurosurgeon.

"Thank you Joe," Derek rolled his eyes. "I just wish I knew what to do about it. How could I just blurt it out like that? What's wrong with me?"

"You're brainsick," Mark offered as he sat down. "Why are there six dogs standing next to you?"

"They're Meredith's," Derek said. "I'm afraid if I leave them outside, they'll get stolen and Meredith will have another reason to say no."

"Did she say no?"

"No, but she didn't say yes either. She just kind of ran away."

"Well, run after her."

"What?"

"I'm serious, go see her. Talk to her about this whole thing. Tell her what you want."

"And I should listen to you because you've been in so many healthy relationships."

"No, you should listen to me because if you don't, Meredith is going to keep running and considering she's got your kids in her stomach, I don't think you want her to get very far."

Joe answered a ringing phone, "Emerald City Bar."

"_Joe, it's Meredith. Is Derek there?"_

"Right in front of me with your dogs."

"_Good. Put him on."_

Joe handed the phone to Derek, "For you."

Derek took the phone, "Hello?"

"_Okay. I don't want to do it right away. I want to have the kids first and then we can take our time and plan a wedding. I also think that you should maybe start planning a house 'cause as much as I love my friends, I don't think bringing Melinda and Dylan home to them is a good idea and I don't want to kick them out because I like knowing that they live here."_

Silence.

"_Derek?"_

"Are you saying yes?

"_What?"_

"Are you saying yes?"

_Meredith took a deep breath, "I'm saying yes."_

Derek smiled.

GAGAGAGAGA

"Dee, Dee, Dee!"

Delinda held her phone away from her ear until the shouting stopped, and frowned. "Meredith, is that you?"

"Yes, it's me," Meredith grinned. "I have big news to tell you."

"It seems like you have big news to tell me every week," Delinda said, rolling her eyes.

Meredith sighed. "Delinda, that new phone I got last week was big stuff, okay? I thought you should, or would like to know."

"So is it a new TV tonight?"

"Shut up, Dee," Meredith muttered. "This actually _is_ big news. Seriously big."

"Then spill!"

"Okay, here goes – Derek proposed to me yesterday. And I said yes."

Delinda waited for a second. "Proposed, like…? Oh my god, Meredith! Are you serious? That's great! Congratulations!"

"Thanks, Dee."

Delinda sighed. "I wish I was there, so I could give you a hug. And talk to you properly about it. Getting big news isn't the same over the phone."

"The twins are due soon, we'll see each other then."

"True. And then I can see the ring, too," Delinda grinned. "So is it big?"

Meredith paused. "Well…it was kind of a…spur of the moment thing, I think. Well, I mean, he'd been thinking about it for a while, obviously, but not of a ring."

"Then maybe you should be glad I'm not in Seattle," Delinda said. "Otherwise I'd go and kick Derek for not giving you a ring. That's one of the best parts of being proposed to."

"Okay, Dee."

"Well, I've got to go now, but thanks for telling me about your big news. I'm so happy for you!"

"Thanks, Delinda. I couldn't wait to tell you."

"See you soon, right?" Delinda asked.

"Of course."


	29. Wedding Plans Can Cause Headaches

"I have a problem," Meredith said as she unceremoniously plopped herself onto Izzie's bed one morning about a week and a half after Derek proposed.

"Me too," Izzie said. "Let's examine my problem first. My pregnant, crazy friend is currently sitting on my bed, preventing me from sleeping and I might have to kill her if she doesn't remove herself soon. Any ideas on how to solve the problem?"

"Iz, I promise to leave soon, I just need your advice on something."

Izzie sighed and sat up, "Talk."

"I need your advice on who should give me away. I mean if Ed were still here, it'd be a no brainer but now there's a couple of serious choices in the running."

"Who are they?"

"Danny and Alex," Meredith said.

"Good choices. Both brother like," Izzie nodded. "But you've known Danny longer and you're making Alex godfather to your son, so if it were me, I'd pick Danny."

"Good idea. Thanks Izzie."

"I'm here to help," Izzie smiled.

Meredith didn't move.

"Why aren't you leaving," Izzie asked.

"Because I need more help," Meredith smiled.

"Okay, what now?"

"Maid of honor."

"Choices?"

"Delinda and Cristina."

"Okay. Both are best friends and sister like people in your life," Izzie said. "Okay, this is easy. Make me your maid of honor."

"Izzie!"

Izzie giggled. "Sorry. Couldn't resist," she said.

"You will be a bridesmaid, don't worry. I hope Derek knows a lot of guys."

"What do you mean?"

"I mean there's you, Cristina, Delinda, Sam, and Mary. Derek needs five guys to stand up with him."

"Well, he can ask Sloan, right?"

"Mark was at the first wedding," Meredith said. "He might be bad luck."

Izzie giggled again as she flopped onto her back, "I am so not going back to sleep, am I?"

"Sorry, Iz. I just can't stop thinking about things, even though I told Derek that I wanted to wait to plan the wedding."

Izzie sighed and rolled over to grab some paper and a pen from her nightstand.

"Okay. 'Father' of the Bride- Daniel McCoy. 'Mother' of the Bride-Jillian Deline," Izzie said. "Maid of Honor?"

Meredith sighed. "When we were kids, we decided that Delinda would be Nessa's, Ness would be mine, and I'd be Delinda's. Ness is gone so that plan is shot to hell."

"We need another opinion."

Meredith nodded and looked at Izzie before the two of them looked at the open door and shouted in unison.

"GEORGE!"

----

"Derek?"

Derek rubbed his eyes and groaned, sitting up on the bed in the on-call room. "Danny, is that you?"

"Yeah, man, it's me," Danny replied. "What's up?"

"I was sleeping, actually. I've got a major surgery in a few hours and I was just trying to get some rest," Derek explained to him pointedly. "What about you?"

"Man, I should have become a doctor. It's like, all you guys ever do is sleep," Danny said, and grinned. "I've been chasing around two idiots all day. Now that's tiring stuff."

"Sure," Derek rolled his eyes. "So, was there any point to this call?"

"What?" Danny frowned, pausing to think for a moment. "Oh, yeah. Yeah, I had to ask you about something pretty big."

"Right. Shoot."

"Well, Meredith talked to Delinda last night, and then Delinda talked to me and apparently, you haven't given Mer a ring yet."

Derek was silent for a moment. "Uh…that's…"

"Between you and me," Danny began, and lowered his voice, "It's not so big an issue for me, but for Delinda? This is a big deal. She thinks that the fact you haven't given Meredith a ring yet signalizes the fact that you're having issues."

"Right," Derek nodded. "Well, thanks for the heads up, I guess? I didn't realize it was such a big thing. I mean, I was planning on meeting the guy at the jewelry store next Monday, but…I could go sooner, I guess."

"Don't sweat it, man. Just, you're working on it, right?" Danny asked.

"Yeah."

"Well, that's good enough for me. And I'll try and calm Delinda down, don't worry."

"Thanks, Danny."

"You're welcome. Hey, I gotta go."

Derek nodded. "Alright. Bye, Danny."

x-x-x-x-x-x

"I don't want to get married in New York," Meredith said.

"Why not? My family is there."

"Good for them. It didn't work out too well the last time you got married in New York," Meredith came back.

"Your family is originally from New York."

"So? Right now my family is from Seattle and Vegas. Maybe that's what we should do."

"What?"

"We should get married in Vegas."

"No."

"Why not? It'd be fun."

"It's cheesy."

"Vegas is not cheesy. It's historical and fun but it is not cheesy."

"A Vegas wedding would be cheesy."

Meredith sighed, "Fine. But we're not doing this in New York."

"Isn't there a church or something where generations of your family got married?"

"Married, baptized, made their communion, were confirmed, and eulogized in," Meredith nodded. "It burned down after my mother was born."

"Of course it did."

x-x-x-x-x-x

"Hey, Meredith," Izzie called excitedly, "Look at these flowers!"

Meredith stumbled over all the books and magazines on the floor to Izzie's spot on the couch, and peered at her magazine. "I love that bouquet," she said, pointing. "Isn't it gorgeous?"

"It'd go perfectly with the dress," Izzie admitted. "Actually—"

"No!" George shouted, and the girls looked up across the room. "No more wedding talk! Stop it! I'm going freaking insane here."

"You could offer to help out, you know," Izzie rolled her eyes, "Choose some napkins or songs for the reception here and there."

"Firstly," George began, "you don't like my taste in music, and you make an effort to tell me so every time I put on one of my CDs. Secondly, napkins? Seriously? Seriously?"

"George," Meredith laughed, "Why don't you go hang out with Alex or Derek? They're at Joe's, I think. Mark would probably be with them, too. See, there are at least three guys to surround yourself with. No more talk of napkins or wedding cake. "

"But I don't feel like going out right now."

Izzie checked her watch. "Hmm. You know, I think Cristina's coming over in about ten minutes."

George practically jumped off the armchair. "I'm off to Joe's."

x-x-x-x-x-x

Meredith poured herself some orange juice and turned as the kitchen door swung open, admitting George, "Morning. Late night?"

"I hate your fiancé and Mark."

"What happened?"

"Shots. Lots of shots," George said sinking into a chair and burying his head in his arms as Cristina came through the door.

"What's with Bambi?"

"He downed a few too many last night."

"Oh well he's in for a rough day. A hangover on top of what could be a very busy day in the pit and the O.R."

"Why?"

"Did you look at the calendar?"

"No, what's up?"

"It's Dead Baby bike race day."

"Oh," George groaned.

-x-x-x-x-

"You look like hell," Izzie remarked, eliciting giggles from Meredith and Izzie and a wry grin from Cristina.

Mark moaned, pushing up his sunglasses with one hand as he took a sip of his orange juice with the other. "I hate you all."

"Just so you know," Addison said, "everyone else in the cafeteria thinks you three are the biggest losers, wearing your sunglasses inside. In Seattle. Where it's always raining."

The girls laughed but Derek said, "Guys, I think they're making fun of us, but my head hurts too much for me to care."

Meredith rolled her eyes. "Don't think you're going to get any sympathy out of us."

"Yeah," Izzie chimed in. "It's not our fault you were all at Joe's until some stupid hour of the morning."

"As a matter of fact," George replied, "we were discussing some important issues."

Cristina frowned. "Right, which required downing shot after shot?"

"Hey, yeah, we 'discussed some important issues' last night too," Izzie said.

Addison nodded. "But the way we did it was by watching a Sandra Bullock movie and eating popcorn."

The three men groaned, showing their disgust.

"Hey, it may not seem like fun to you," Meredith told them, "but at least we're not the ones with splitting headaches, sitting inside with sunglasses."

"Yeah," Cristina grinned, "you guys look like dorks."

-x-x-x-x-x

Sorry it's been so long. Blame NBC for canceling Las Vegas and Shonda for the lameness that GA has been lately but don't blame me and Toni-we're too cute. ;) But speaking of Las Vegas, damn does Josh look hot in Transformers 2 or what? Yes I saw it. I'm admitting it.


	30. Visits

This must be a record. 2 chapters in less than two months? Maybe we were inspired by all the great replies last time. ;) Thanks everyone.

=d=d=d=d=

"Hey Meredith, the pizza's here," Alex stuck his head into his friend's room and smiled in amusement. "What are you doing?"

"Seeing what a wedding dress would look like over a pregnant stomach," Meredith said as she stretched a white bed sheet over her stomach.

"You and Shepherd are waiting, remember?"

"We are at the moment. But I found out this morning that Mama Shepherd is on her way here and I just have this feeling that she's going to try and get us married before the blessed event."

"Derek's not a Mama's boy."

"You don't think he's a Mama's boy. But what if he is? We never thought Burke was the Mama's Boy type either but the minute that woman flew into town on her broomstick super surgeon was singing a different tune."

Alex snorted. "Have you talked to Shepherd?"

"A little. But he just keeps telling me not to worry."

"So? Don't worry."

"How can I not worry? For all intents and purposes I-"

"Stop. You did not break up Shepherd's marriage. Addison did that all on her own."

"Well not all on her own. She had some help."

"Point taken. It'll be fine."

"Thanks Alex."

"Guys," Izzie's voice drifted up. "C'mon already. George is shoveling the food into his mouth at a disturbingly rapid pace."

"Coming Iz," Meredith said.

-x-x-x-x-x-

"Meredith!"

Meredith barely had the time to look up before she was enveloped in a big bear hug. "Mrs. Shepherd! It's so great to see you."

"It's great to see you again too, honey." Mrs. Shepherd stood back and looked her over from head to toe. "Wow, just look at you. You've gotten so big!"

"Well," Meredith gave her a faint smile. "Twins will do that to you."

Mrs. Shepherd's grin seemed to grow bigger with each word as she said, "I'm so excited! And you, you must be excited too now the date's nearly here."

"Of course. Derek and I can't wait."

"Speaking of Derek, where is he?" Mrs. Shepherd frowned. "He called me to tell me to get a cab from the airport because he had an emergency surgery, but that it wouldn't take long and he'd be able to see me soon."

"Uh, yeah, I think they ran into some complications when they got into the OR, so it might take a while longer than he first assumed," Meredith explained. "He's sorry about that. I know he was excited about meeting you at the airport."

The grin returned to Mrs. Shepherd's face. "Oh, don't worry. While we wait for him to get done, you and I can have a nice little chat over some tea. There's so much to talk about, after all."

"Oh." Meredith tried to keep the nervous look off her face. "Of course. Lovely."

-x-x-x-x-x-

"So, how do you think it's going," Meredith asked Alex.

"Well, she seems nice."

"She is. She's really nice. So, then why do I still feel like the other woman?"

"You're not the other woman."

"He's right," Derek said from the doorway. "Sorry I'm late."

"It's okay. Alex is very entertaining when he wants to be."

"Well, since I'm here, you're officially off duty. Go upstairs and call Mary or something."

"Good idea. Night guys."

"Night."

Derek looked at Meredith once they were alone, "You okay?"

"Were you this nervous meeting Aunt Jillian?"

"Pretty much."

"I am so sorry," Meredith said.

"Meredith, my mom likes you."

"And I like her. But she liked Addison first."

"No, she didn't. She was kind to her because I loved her and because she and Nancy ended up being such good friends but Mom never liked Addison."

"Really?"

"Really. C'mon let's go back in there and have dessert."

"Good idea," Meredith nodded.

-x-x-x-x-x-

"Oh my god," Mike said, looking down at Meredith. "I cannot believe how big you've gotten!"

Sam rolled her eyes. "Wow, way to be insensitive," she said, but she smiled.

"As if Mere cares about that kind of thing anyway, right?" Cristina laughed as Sam pulled her into a hug.

"How was your flight?" Meredith asked. "Everything okay, all fine?"

Mike nodded, and picked up his and Sam's luggage, bringing it in through the front door and setting it down at the base of the stairs. "Sure, if you forget about Sam packing as if she were going away for six months."

"Hey!" Sam protested. "Shut up, Mike."

Meredith laughed. "Come on, you guys. I'm sure you're all hungry, and Izzie's been pretty busy cooking up a storm in the kitchen."

x=x=x=x=x=x=x

"Izzie, come on," Sam protested. "I've had three slices of cake already and after all that roast before I seriously can't take anymore."

Izzie pouted. "Okay..." she looked around the table, and eyed Mike. "Mike, I only saw you have one slice. I'm sure you want another, right?"

Mike shot a look across the table and opened his mouth, but before he could reply, Cristina said, "Izzie, are you trying to kill the guy?"

"Cristina, I'm just asking if he's still hungry. God."

Mike gave a small shake of his head.

"Izzie, you cooked enough for half the hospital and we all stuffed ourselves."

Meredith jumped in. "It's okay, just leave it on the stove. I'm sure it'll be eaten for leftovers tomorrow. Derek will be home in a few hours, and I'll bet he'll be starved."

"Fine," Izzie sighed, and carried the cake to the counter, which was already crowded with large plates of leftover roast, potatoes and salad.

Mike looked across at Cristina and grinned. "Hey, thanks for saving my ass – or my stomach, actually."

Cristina laughed. "No problem. I know how Izzie gets with her food, and I know it's hard to say no to her."

"Exactly," Meredith agreed. "You think that I'm so big because of the twins, but actually all the weight has come from Izzie's cooking and baking."

Mike laughed. "I guess I'll have to stick around with Cristina during dinnertime these next few weeks if I want to avoid piling on the weight, then."

=c=c=c=c=c=c=c=

"You're crazy," Derek shook his head. "This however is really good. Mere, you mind if I marry Izzie instead?"

"I am not crazy and George has two very large older brothers who wrestled in high school. I think if you go messing with their brother's girl, not even Mark is going to be able to put your face back together."

"Okay, so why do you think Mike likes Cristina?"

"He was totally flirting with her and she was flirting with him too."

"Didn't think Mike was the flirting type."

"Oh please. I love him to death but he can be a total dog at times. Worse than Danny ever was," Meredith smiled as she got into bed. "So, you love Izzie for her cooking?"

"No, I think she's a good cook but I only love her as a friend."

"Good answer," Meredith smiled.

"I was kind of proud of it."

=x=x=x=x=

"Oh, come on." Meredith rolled her eyes. "They are totally flirting."

Derek shrugged. "I'm sorry," he said, "I just don't see it." He looked down the counter at Cristina and Mike, who were sitting close together and giggling every so often. "Nope."

"Just because Mike's style of flirting doesn't involve an elevator, doesn't mean it's not flirting," Meredith pointed out, and took a gulp of her orange juice.

"Hey!" Derek said, in a mock hurt voice, "I can recognize flirting even when it's not in an elevator! And besides—"

Izzie interrupted him, taking the seat beside him and saying, "Hey, guys!" she reached for the beer Joe had placed on the counter for her as he saw her come in through the door. "What's up?"

"We're just discussing Mike and Cristina's over-the-top flirting."

Izzie looked at Meredith and grinned. "Oh my god, I know, right?" she exclaimed. "That was totally the first thing I noticed when I came in."

Meredith turned to Derek. "You see?"

Derek groaned. "This is just you wanting to see two of your best friends together, setting them up."

Sam stepped up behind them. "Is this Cristina and Mike?" she asked, "because trust me, if Meredith was working on that then congratulations because I'm pretty sure it's gone way beyond her wildest match-making dreams already."

"What?" Derek asked.

Sam laughed. "Oh, Derek. I love you like a brother, but for a brain surgeon you're actually kind of stupid. They are totally into each other, way more than I bet even Meredith thought they would be."

"Guys!" Meredith cried. "I didn't set them up. They found each other all on their own."

Izzie nodded. "And trust me Derek, everyone's noticed."

Sam pointed to Alex and George, who were playing darts on the other side of the bar. "They just spent the better part of the last half an hour making kissy noises at Mike and Cristina."

Joe, who had walked over to them to refill Meredith's orange juice, leaned forward to speak. "This about Cristina and Mike?"

Derek nodded hesitantly.

"Oh man, aren't they cute?"

Meredith grinned triumphantly. "See, if Joe knows then it must be true!"

Izzie agreed. "Joe knows every single detail about every single relationship that his customers have got going on. We all know from experience."

Sam gave Derek a pat on the shoulder. "Sorry, buddy. Looks like you were wrong."


End file.
